Lost Love Found Love
by Gregorypeck205
Summary: Tim is hurt by his teammates again but in his grief, he remembers a piece of advice and encouragement given to him by one of the few people in his life that he trust. M rating is for some language and safety. No Smut. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone, Gregorypeck205 here starting another NCIS fanfic.**

 **I normally don't write cannon so don't look for correct dates and order of events from my stories.**

 **For anyone who has been reading Broken Trust, you already know I'm a big Tim McGee and McGiva fan.**

 **Tim is hurt by his teammates again but in his grief, he remembers a piece of advice and encouragement given to him by one of the few people in his life that he trusts. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS or any of their characters. In other words, I Own Nothing.**

Chapter 1. His Eyes Are Now Opened

 _Abby's Lab_

Tim could not believe what he was seeing. His heart was breaking as he watched Tony and Abby locked in a passionate kiss that left nothing to the imagination. Tony hands were massaging Abby's ass as she moaned continuously while grinding into Tony. Tim turned and went back upstairs and made a beeline for the men's room. He went to the sink and splashed water on his face. His mind was a jumbled mess. He could not seem to focus on anything. He knew he had to get out of the building as quickly as possible so he could be alone and get his thoughts together without being interrupted. He took some paper towels to dry his face and made sure his clothes were in order. He took a look at his face and tried to look as though nothing was wrong. He left the rest room and entered the bull pen. Tony was back at his desk looking as though nothing had been going on.

"Boss, I'm at a dead end right now. I'm going to go out and get some air to see if I can get a better perspective on this case." With that, he immediately headed to the exit not looking at anyone.

Ziva David was looking at McGee shrewdly. "McGee are you all right?"

With that question, everyone looked up at McGee but he did not turn around or slow down.

"I'm fine Ziva, just frustrated that I haven't been able to come up with anything to help with this case." Tim had made it to the door and proceeded out of the building.

Gibbs, Dinozzo and David look at each other silently communicating that something was wrong but knew McGee would not confide in them. Gibbs made a mental note to have a talk with McGee to see if he could find out what was wrong with him. Tim had walked to the café and bought a cup of coffee. He walked into the park and sat on a bench and finally started to let the heaviness and sadness set in. He and Abby had dated before and even though Abby had broken it off, he still had feelings for her and always hoped they would get back together. Seeing her with Tony like that had been a shock, especially since Tony knew the way he felt about Abby. Tim started wondering just how long they had been together. He finally decided it would be better if he didn't know. That could only bring more heartache for him. The more pressing problem would seem to be how he was going to work with them every day. He knew every time he looked at one of them, all he would see was the image of them locked in that kiss.

As he thought about this problem, he was unaware that he was being observed. Ziva had been watching McGee through the window of the NCIS building ever since he had sat on the bench. She was extremely worried about him. She knew that whatever was bothering him was not about the case. She hoped he would come to her and share his problems with her. They were supposed to be friends. Ziva had a special place in her heart for McGee. When she had joined the team, he had been the first to greet her and welcome her to the team even though she could tell he was still hurting over their recently murdered comrade. She had seen right away that he was sincere in his welcome and his smile had lifted her spirits. Now, she was worried about McGee and didn't know what to do about it. She did notice McGee start to sit up straighter as though he had come to some conclusion. She wondered what had caused the change in his posture.

Out in the park, Tim had remembered what his grandmother had told him. She always said "Timothy, you are made of sterner stuff. Whenever it looks like the world is closing in on you, you remember that you are a strong intelligent man. You have achieved things people can't even imagine. If someone steps on your heart, don't get depressed because that person doesn't deserve you. You are meant to be with someone who will cherish you and protect your heart with a fierceness that even you won't understand. That woman will have realized how precious a gift it is to have your heart. That lucky lady will be person you will love, make babies with and grow old with. Don't worry about the others because they are unworthy of you." Tim just smiled thinking about his grandmother. She was a force to be reckoned with but she had a fierce loyalty and love for Tim and his sister, Sarah. Tim realized he could work with these people but he did not have to socialize with them. They were no longer considered friends but just coworkers. Putting them in this category started to ease the heaviness in his chest. He sat up straight on the bench and actually started looking forward to not having to put up with Tony and Abby during off duty hours. The more he thought about it the lighter he felt. He actually had a smile on his face as he got up and headed back to work. He walked into the bullpen, sat at his desk and unlocked his computer. He immediately started working with a smile on his face. His team was completely confused now. Tim had left looking like he just lost his best friend but now he was calmly sitting at his computer with a smile on his face typing away.

"McGee, with me," shouted Gibbs.

"Hold on boss, I think I'm on to something here. Just let me get this search going."

Gibbs stood and headed toward the elevators. After Tim had the search going, he got up and followed Gibbs to the elevator. After the elevator started to move, Gibbs hit the emergency switch and stopped the elevator.

"Ok McGee, out with it" Gibbs spat out.

"Out with what boss?"

"Whatever it is that is bothering you."

"There is nothing bothering me boss."

"Don't lie to me McGee."

Now Tim was starting to get a little angry.

"I said there was nothing bothering me. If you choose not to believe me, there is nothing I can do about that. If there was something bothering me, as long as it did not affect my work, I would be perfectly within my rights if I decided not to tell you. There is nothing in the NCIS or Federal regulations that says I must discuss my personal feelings with you. Now, can I get back to work?"

Saying Gibbs was shocked would be an understatement. He stared into McGee's eyes for a long moment which again surprised him since McGee was staring right back at him without flinching. Gibbs finally flipped the switch, which landed them back at the bullpen. McGee left the elevator first with angry strides and a scowl on his face. He went over to his computer and started shutting it down. He collected his backpack and his gun and stated he was leaving early today and left.

Ziva got up and went over to Gibbs desk with an angry scowl on her face.

"What did you say to him?" Ziva asked in a shout whisper.

"I just asked him what was bothering him." Gibbs replied nonchalantly.

"Tell me the truth Gibbs, we all saw McGee when he came back. He was cheerful and smiling and was making a breakthrough in the case. A few moments later, he gets off the elevator after having a talk with you and he is angry enough to just shut down his computer leave for the day."

"Well, I might have called him a liar." Gibbs said gruffly.

"McGee, a liar! But McGee cannot lie. We all know that. That is the reason you do not send him undercover. Why would you insult him like that?"

"Because I know something is bothering him and he wouldn't tell me what it was." Gibbs shouted.

"So, he chose to keep his private life private and you could not handle that so you chose to insult him?" Ziva was so angry she was shaking.

Tony didn't know why Ziva was so upset over Probie.

"So, Gibbs called him a liar and he couldn't handle it, so what Tony said."

"You are both imbeciles!" Ziva turned on her heels and angrily walked back over and sat at her desk. She started typing but she was hitting the keys so hard that everyone thought she was going to break the keyboard.

Gibbs wanted to shake McGee. There was something bothering him but it was not affecting his work so he couldn't force him to talk about. Whatever it was, it was still having an effect on his team and Gibbs hated when anything upset the smooth operation of his team.

When Ziva came into work the next day, Tim was already at his desk working.

"Good Morning McGee." She greeted.

Tim looked up and smiled. Ziva loved it when that smile came over his face.

"Hey Ziva, how are you this morning?"

Ziva smiled back at Tim. "I am fine Timothy."

McGee felt a little tug on his heart at the way Ziva said his name.

"Ziva, after you boot up your computer, could you come over here please? My search turned up some interesting results and I want to get your input."

"Of course Timothy, I'll be right over."

After going through her morning start up routine, Ziva went over to McGee's desk and leaned over his shoulder, both enjoying the closeness. Soon they were totally engrossed in the case, tossing ideas back and forth to each other, dismissing scenarios and hypotheses that did not work with the evidence they had.

Gibbs, Tony and Abby stepped out of the elevator together and stopped and stared at the scene before them. Tim and Ziva did not notice them. They also did not notice that Ziva had curled her arm around Tim's shoulder as she looked over his shoulder at his computer. They continued discussing the case and sometimes laughing when an idea was thrown out by one of them that was just ridiculous.

Finally, Tony said, "hey, no one told me we were meeting early to discuss the case."

Tim and Ziva looked up and noticed the three of them standing there staring at them. Tim said nothing and just went back to typing on his computer.

"There was no meeting Tony. McGee was already here when I arrived. McGee's search turned up some results and he asked me to come over and give him my input." Ziva said.

"Then why was your hand on his shoulder?" Abby said with a pout.

"Because it was tiring standing hunched over like that. But a better question would be why you are here Abby?"

"I was coming to ask McGee to go to a concert with me."

McGee looked up and said no thank you to Abby and went back to typing at his computer. Again there was silence as no one could believe McGee had just turned Abby down for a date.

Abby finally found her voice, "Oh, you're going McGee; pick me up at 7:00."

"No Abby, I'm not going, now quit bothering me, I'm trying to work."

Tony had a shocked look on his face. Ziva had a smirk on her face. Gibbs face was stony.

Abby walked over to McGee's desk and leaned over as she said

"I don't know what's wrong with you but you will pick me up at 7:00 and take me to the concert." After saying that, she turned and went down to her lab.

Tony came over to McGee's desk and started teasing, "Well Probie, let me know how you like the concert."

"I'm not going to any concert Tony and will you please go to your own desk and leave me alone so I can work."

Tony straightened up and gave McGee a long stare which McGee ignored and kept working.

Gibbs spoke up. "McGee, did I hear you right? You are not going to the concert with Abby."

"Yes boss, you heard right." McGee responded.

"Don't you think you should tell her?" Gibbs asked making it more like a statement.

"I've already told her twice. If she refuses to accept my answer, there is nothing I can do about that." Tim replied.

"McGee, get up and go down to the lab and talk to Abby." Gibbs said starting to raise his voice.

"No boss!" Tim responded.

Now everyone in the bullpen, including the other teams was stunned. There is complete silence in the bullpen.

"McGee with me!" Gibbs states angrily, and starts for the elevators.

"No boss!" Tim repeated.

Tony was gasping like a fish out of water.

Gibbs turned back to Tim and in a low controlled voice asks, "What did you say?"

"I said no." Tim responded.

"Are you disobeying a direct order?" Gibbs asked threateningly.

"No, I'm disobeying an unlawful order. Show me one regulation that states you can order me to go talk to someone about a date. Show me one regulation that states you are allowed to interfere in my personal life, if it is not affecting my work. My personal and private life is just that, personal and private. I will not be discussing my personal life with you or anyone else who works in this place?" Tim informed Gibbs.

No one had ever seen Gibbs turn his current shade of purple before. He was stuttering as he started to walk back toward McGee. "YOU WILL GET YOUR ASS DOWN TO ABBY'S LAB RIGHT NOW MCGEE!" Gibbs shouted.

"No boss, I will not!" McGee stated quietly but firmly.

"GIBBS!" director Vance yelled from upstairs. "MY OFFICE RIGHT NOW!" Vance turned and went into his office. Gibbs, still glaring at McGee started walking slowly toward the stairs.

When Gibbs arrived in Vance office, he was still angry but after taking a look at Leon's angry face, he knew he had better tread carefully.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Leon shouted.

"Agent McGee was disobeying a direct order." Gibbs responded.

"Oh really, what was the order?" the director asked.

"I ordered him to go down to Abby's lab and talk to her." Gibbs answered.

"Why?" the director wanted to know.

"What do you mean why?" Gibbs snapped.

"Why did you need agent McGee to go talk to Ms. Scuito? Did she have forensic evidence on a case?" Vance asked.

"No!" Gibbs replied quietly.

"Then why were you ordering agent McGee to go talk with Ms Scuito?"

"It doesn't matter" Gibbs responded sulkily. "I'm his boss and he should just do what I say."

"Bull Shit! I was watching the entire time and I heard Agent McGee advise you that he would not discuss his personal life with you or anyone else. Unless I'm mistaken, which I doubt, it seems you wanted him to speak to her about a concert that he clearly said he would not take Miss Scuito to. Here is a piece of advice you had better think about before you speak with agent McGee again. Tread lightly! In case you haven't noticed, something or someone has pushed agent McGee past his tolerance level and he is not going to put up with same mistreatment he has endured since he has been here. Here is another nugget you might want to file away if you want to keep your job here. He was perfectly within his rights to tell you to go to hell for butting into his personal life. Furthermore, if you continue this way, agent McGee can file harassment charges against you along with a number of other federal privacy laws you have broken. You need to get it through your thick skull that Miss Scuito is not your 16 year daughter and agent McGee is not some teenage boy coming to ask if he can take her out. Those are two grown consenting adults who can make up their own minds about how they live their lives. Think long and hard before you do something that will get you thrown out of here Gibbs. Dismissed!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chap 2. Tim is in a good place emotionally and professionally but his team is having problems accepting this new Tim. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS or any of their characters. In other words, I Own Nothing.**

Chapter 2. You Better Recognize

 _The night of the concert_

Abby was talking to herself as she waited at her home for Tim. Who did he think he was anyway thinking he could refuse her? He should know better. Abby decided when he picked her up she would make the night miserable for him as punishment for daring to say no to her. She started planning all the things she would have him do as punishment. As she continued plotting and planning, she didn't notice the time. It was already 8:00 pm. Once she her plan was put together, she took her phone out to play a game while she waited and saw the time. Had something happened to Tim on his way over? She called his cell and Tim answered on the third ring.

"What's up Abby, do we have a case"?

Abby was confused. "No Timmy, we don't have a case"!

"Then why are you calling me" Tim asked?

"I'm calling because you haven't picked me up yet".

"Why would I be picking you up Abby"?

"Stop playing games McGee" Abby said snappishly. "You know you are taking me to the concert tonight".

"No Abby, I told you I was not going to a concert with you" McGee replied back.

"But Timmy, I told you to pick me up at 7:00" Abby said haughtily.

"That's right Abby, that's what you said after I, very clearly, stated to you twice that I was not going. Now, listen carefully, I am not your play toy. I am a grown man. When I say I am not going somewhere; that means I am not going. Also, never call me at my home again unless it is involving a case. I do not want to associate with you personally. And for the last the last time, STOP CALLING ME TIMMY" McGee Shouted! Click.

Abby stood staring at her cell. What the hell was that she thought? Timmy had never yelled at her. He had never hung up on her either. Why was he so angry? What have I done to him, she thought? What does he mean he doesn't want to associate with me personally? I'm his best friend. He is not making sense. Well, I guess I'll just have to call my silver haired fox and have him straighten this up. I guess McGee will never learn he is not allowed to say no to me. I wonder what punishment Gibbs will give him this time. She started smiling as she tried to figure out how Gibbs would punish McGee this time. She even thought about smacking him on the nose with a newspaper when she would tell him 'Bad McGee' this time. She started laughing at that image.

The next morning, Tim was in early again working on the case.

Ziva again was the next one in. "Good Morning Timothy" she said with a smile.

Tim looked up and his smile lit up the whole room not to mention Ziva's heart. "Good Morning Ziva, how are you this morning? How did you sleep last night? How was your run this morning"?

Ziva started laughing as McGee hit her with a barrage of questions. "I am well this morning, I slept like a branch last night and my morning run was quite invigorating" she said.

"You slept like a log Ziva, not branch" Tim said with a smile. "I'm glad you slept well and had a good run because I have some more results I could use your help with".

"Of course Timothy, let me boot up my computer and I will be right over".

Once again, Gibbs, Tony and Abby stepped off the elevator and found them in the same position they were in the previous morning discussing the case.

"McGee" Gibbs shouted!

Tim looked up, "yes Boss?

"I would like a word with you" Gibbs said in a cold tone.

"Ok, what do you want to discuss" McGee said in a calm voice.

"Did you stand Abby up last night"?

"No".

"But you did not come and get me and take me to the concert" Abby said accusingly.

"That's correct", Tim acknowledged.

"McGee, what the hell are you trying to pull? So you did stand her up"?

"No, I did not. Now, as this is my personal life, it's really none of your business boss but just this once, I will speak to you on this subject. To stand someone up, you must have a date with them. I did not have a date with Abby. You were standing right there when I told her twice I was not going to the concert with her. You also asked me again after she had left and again I replied I was not going to a concert with her. That means I did not have a date with her so I did not stand her up. I cannot and will not be held accountable due her misguided way of thinking. I don't know where she got the idea that she can control my personal time or my life but that is not my problem. She lost any personal rights over me she might have had when she told me in no uncertain terms that she did not want to be with me because I'm too nice. Answer me this Boss, what If I tell you to come to the parking lot at 7:00 and wash my car and you say no. Then I say, you will come to the parking lot at 7:00 and wash my car. If you don't come, does that mean you stood me up"?

The guys from the other side of the bullpen broke out laughing. Ziva was having a hard time trying not laugh. Even Vance who had been observing from up above had to cover his mouth to smother a snicker.

"Now I have another question for you Boss. What has this got to do with you? This was a personal situation between Abby and I. You are not related to either one of us. At work you are my direct supervisor and Director Vance is Abby's direct supervisor but since this was not a professional issue, why are you harassing me about a situation that has absolutely nothing to do with you"?

"This does have to do with me" Gibbs shouted!

"How" McGee asked quietly?

"Abby is my, is my, is my" Gibbs stumbled trying to find the right word.

"I believe the word you are looking for is coworker. Professionally, you two are just coworkers. Personally and privately, you two can be whatever you want to be to each other, all I'm asking you to do is to leave me out of it. Let me make this perfectly clear since we are discussing this. You Boss, you Abby, and you Tony, are coworkers to me, nothing more. I do not want to socialize with any of you personally. Don't call me unless it's job related. Don't come to my home unless it's job related. Don't talk to me at the office unless it's job related. Is that clear enough for you or do I need to have it typed and notarized for you three to understand" McGee said in a mocking voice?

"Hey" exclaimed Tony, "what did I do? And why is Ziva not on the list" Tony whined?

"Those are not job related questions so I won't answer them. Boss, unless there is something else job related you would like to discuss with me, I would like to get back to work" and with that, Tim turned and went back to his desk leaving one forensic scientist and two special agents totally stunned.

There was complete silence in the bullpen. The only sound you could hear was Tim typing on his computer. After a moment, the regular sounds of the bullpen started to pickup as everyone settled down and got back to work.

Abby stood where she had been staring at McGee not knowing if she should be mad or sad that McGee did not want anything to do with her anymore. She decided on mad and turning to Gibbs, she said.

"Are you just going to let him talk to me like that? He stood me up, hung up on me last night and now he tells me he doesn't want anything to do with me. Do something Gibbs" she screamed,

Before Gibbs could say a word, Vance shouted down; "MISS SCUITO, MY OFFICE, NOW".

Abby gulped, she forgot the director was standing there watching everything. She looked at Gibbs trying to look like a little girl so that he would go with her.

Gibbs could never deny Abby, so he stood to go with her to see Vance until he was halted by a cold quiet voice.

"Gibbs, if you come up those stairs with her, it will be to turn in your gun and badge.

Gibbs looked up into the directors eyes and saw that he was not joking. Gibbs turned and started walking toward the break room throwing over his shoulder, "going for coffee".

"Miss Scuito, I'm waiting" said the director coldly.

Several moments later, after lots and lots of shouting, Abby came running down the stairs with mascara streaked tears running down her face and continued on down to her lab. After a moment, everyone went back to their tasks as though nothing had happened. Gibbs came back into the bullpen and saw all of his agents working. He glanced upstairs but did not say anything.

"She's down in her lab boss", Tony stated. "She didn't look to good when she ran down there".

Gibbs just nodded and turned to his computer. Gibbs sat there thinking that his team was going to be in disarray and he could not figure out how to fix it.

Over the next several weeks, Gibbs prediction that his team would be in disarray turned out to be false. As a matter of fact, it turned out to be just the opposite. His team was functioning at a higher level than it was before. Since McGee refused to talk to Dinozzo unless it was work related, Dinozzo was quieter than Gibbs had ever seen him but it seemed to focus him more on the cases rather than trying to think up ways to annoy McGee. Ziva was also more focused at work. She did not engage in the normal banter between her and Dinozzo. She didn't go as far as McGee in what she did and did not talk to Dinozzo about. But she no longer engaged Dinozzo in any kind of sexual innuendos or derogatory topics. McGee was the one agent Gibbs could no longer figure out. McGee used to be an open book to Gibbs but no longer. McGee continued to come in early as he had since he started at NCIS. His work was second to none as usual. In fact, even though it didn't seem possible, McGee's work had gotten even better. He already had great natural instincts when it came to siphoning out the smallest of clues but his ability at connecting the clues into probable leads was incredible. The team was not only solving active cases quicker but thanks to McGee, they were closing more cold cases. McGee continued to talk to Gibbs and Dinozzo on work related topics only but he and Ziva seemed to talk about anything and everything under the sun. Gibbs felt bad for Dinozzo since you could see on his face that he wanted to get in on the conversations. Whenever he would try to interject something into the conversation, McGee would just stop talking and Ziva would answer him with a one or two word reply and then also stop talking. Gibbs also noticed that McGee had no trouble talking to everyone else at NCIS who was not himself, Tony or Abby. Ducky and Palmer would come up and talk to McGee about plans they were making. Apparently, Ducky and McGee had been going to museums together and also going to visit Jimmy, Breena and their new baby. Gibbs also heard numerous conversations McGee had with the other teams which were not work related. This, of course, got him incensed but there was nothing he could do about it. He tried on several occasions to trick McGee into associating with the rest of the team but it did not work. Since Tim no longer went down to the forensics lab, Gibbs tried to order him to go down and help Abby on one particular case. Everyone was in the bullpen including Ducky and Jimmy. Vance was watching from above to see how this played out.

"McGee" Gibbs barked! "Go down to forensics and help Abby".

"Does she need forensics help or computer help" Tim asked Gibbs?

"How the hell should I know" Gibbs shouted! "Just go down there and help her.

"No, Tim replied simply.

"This is a work related order agent McGee" Gibbs said bitingly. "Are you refusing a direct order on a work related case"?

"No boss, I'm refusing an illegal order on a work related case" McGee stated calmly.

Gibbs was speechless for a moment and then he said quietly while clenching and unclenching his hands as though he wanted to strangle McGee

"What makes you think this is an illegal order"?

"Number one" McGee started, "I'm a field agent, not a forensic scientist. During your entire career, name one other field agent, besides myself, you have ever ordered to go down to the forensics lab and help them do their job. Number two, on several occasions, Abby has been offered an assistant to help her whom she has not only refused but came running to you screaming about how she does not want or need an assistant. Since she has turned down the forensics help offered to her, how do you justify ordering a field agent to go help her do her job now? Number three, if she needs computer help, she should requisition a computer specialist from cyber crimes like everyone else. We have a whole section here at NCIS that is dedicated to do just that. Again, how do you justify ordering a field agent to go help a forensic scientist with her computer problem when you have an entire section specifically dedicated for that"?

While everyone was trying to figure out what had just happened, McGee grabbed his coffee cup and started to leave stating he was going for coffee.

With the exception of four people, everyone else were standing in place stunned by what had just happened. Jimmy, with a smile on his face told Tim to hold up he would go with him. Ducky, also smiling said he needed to get back down to autopsy. Ziva, trying hard not to laugh put her head down and started typing at her computer. And the director, with a smirk on his face, turned and went back into his office thinking, very good agent McGee.

Again, Gibbs was so angry it looked like he was about to burst. He knew McGee was right and there was nothing he could do about it. It didn't help that Abby had called whining in his ear about where was McGee, she needed his help and Gibbs had promised he would send him down to her.

The next debacle came when Gibbs stated he was having a team meeting at his house on Saturday and everyone needed to be there. He said he would be grilling steaks. Everyone showed up except for Tim. Gibbs was again pissed. He told Dinozzo to call McGee and to put it on speaker.

"Hey Tony, we got a case" McGee asked calmly?

"Uh no McGee but why aren't you here at boss's house" Tony stuttered?

Tim ignored the question and his voice took on a colder tone. "If we don't have a case, then why are you calling me"?

Gibbs stepped in then, "McGee, I told everyone to be at my house for a team meeting, why are you not here"?

Tim asked one question that took the wind out of Gibbs sails.

"Are we getting paid for being at your house for this team meeting"?

Gibbs was at a loss as to what to say.

Tim continued "No? I thought not. That means we are off the clock and you are having a cookout and I have better things to do with my personal time than to go to your cookout".

"But I told you this would be a team meeting" Gibbs stated.

"Discussing work at a cookout does not make it work related or a team meeting. It makes it discussing work at a cookout. Now, as I said, I have better things to do with my personal time and you are interrupting that. And I'll ask you one more time; please do not call me if it is not job related. Thanks". Tim hung up.

The cookout went from bad to worse after that. Everyone knew that Gibbs had called this supposedly team meeting just to get Tim to interact with the rest of the team. So, without Tim there, it seemed pointless. Tony and Abby just complained about Tim and who did he think he was not coming to Gibbs house and hanging up on them. It did appear for a moment that they might be able to salvage the evening until Palmer, unknowingly, asked a simple question that opened up Pandora's Box.

"So agent Gibbs, what is this team meeting about"?

Poor Palmer, he didn't get it. He really thought there was supposed to be a team meeting. Ducky blamed himself for not informing Palmer that this was just a ruse by the team leader to try to get his team back to having personal interactions. Jimmy was looking around trying to figure out why everyone was looking at him frowning.

Finally, he asked "What did I say"?

Since Ducky and Jimmy had rode over together, Ducky made up an excuse to leave so Jimmy would have to drive him home and he could clue Jimmy in to what the real purpose of the meeting was.

Ziva said she also needed to leave as she had some things she had to attend to.

When it was just the three of them left, Tony couldn't take it anymore.

"What the hell is going on boss? What the hell is up with Probie"?

"I don't know Dinozzo but let's take these steaks in the house and sit down and discuss this while we eat. Maybe we'll be able to figure this out".

While Jimmy was driving, Ducky was explaining what the team meeting was really about. Jimmy, who was seething by the time Ducky was done, pulled over into an empty lot, turned the car off and put his head on the steering wheel taking deep breaths. He had rarely been this angry and he did not want to yell at his mentor. He not only looked at Ducky as his mentor but also as his father and grandfather to his child.

"Let me make sure I have this right. Those three have treated Tim like crap the entire time he has been a part of that team and when he has taken all he can take and decides to exercise his right to associate with whomever he wants to on his personal time, they come up with a plan to trick him into spending time with them and get mad at him because he saw right through it and would not be coerced into doing something he did not want to do. Do I have it just about correct Doctor"?

"No Mr. Palmer, you do not have it just about correct. You have it absolutely correct" Ducky responded.

"And you knew this was the reason for this team meeting"?

"Yes Mr. Palmer. Not at first, but when young Timothy asked if we were getting paid for it, it became clear to me that Gibbs was trying to manipulate him into interacting with the team in a social setting".

"All I can say is, no wonder Tim doesn't want to spend any time with them. They think they own him like property and can do anything they want to him. Now they are upset because their play toy is living his life for himself, as we all are, instead up being at their beck and call. Doctor, I no longer want to spend any of my personal time with them either. Tim is the best person I know and I'm honored to be able to call him my friend. I don't want to associate with anyone who doesn't have his well being in mind".

Ducky was so proud of his surrogate son that he had to work to keep the moisture in his eyes from rolling down his cheek,

"Mr. Palmer, since the day you stepped into autopsy, you have done nothing but make me proud of you. It gladden's my heart to hear you speak of our young Timothy that way. You are truly a good friend to him and I have nothing but the deepest respect for all that you have said here today. Now, let us hurry on to your house so grand ducky can play with his grandson".

With a big smile on his face, Jimmy started the car and pulled out into traffic saying, "right away doctor".

As Ziva was driving back to her apartment, she was thinking about Tim and what he was doing today. She decided to call him.

Tim looked at his phone and immediately was filled with excitement, "Hey Ziva, How are you"?

Ziva gave a little laugh as she felt a thrill go through her at his excited greeting. "I'm fine Timothy, how are you or better yet where are you"?

"I'm great Ziva. I decided to drive down to Virginia Beach and be a beach bum for the weekend".

"You decided to become a bum? You gave away all of your money", Ziva asked confused? Ziva felt that thrill go through her again as she heard Tim give a little chuckle.

"No Ziva, it's an expression that means I came down to the beach with no real plans other than to hang out at the beach and relax".

"Oh", Ziva said and then smiled, "I like your plan Timothy".

"Ziva, you should totally come down and hang out with me. We can be beach bums together. Two beach bums have way more fun than one beach bum".

Ziva started laughing, Tim sounded so excited as he was invited her to share the beach with him. She was almost tempted to go. She enjoyed spending time with Tim and she had nothing going on this weekend.

"Please Ziva, come on down and hang out with me. I promise I will make sure you have a good time. Please Please Please".

Ziva felt a bubble of happiness in her chest and started laughing again at Tim and his antics.

"Ok Timothy, I will join you".

"Great Ziva, I'll text you the address of the hotel I'm staying in. I have a two room suite so you already have a room. Just grab a quick bag with your bathing suit and casual clothes and come on down. We will be the best beach bums ever".

"Ok Timothy, I will see you in a few hours".

As she hung up the phone, she could not believe how much she was looking forward to spending the rest of the weekend with Tim. She was actually excited and could not explain why. She always had fun with Tim when they went out. Even though she was a trained killer he always treated her like a lady. He made her laugh. He was so handsome. Hey, where did that come from? When did she start thinking of Tim that way? A picture of Tim's smiling face popped up in her mind and she felt butterflies in her stomach. Oh no, when had she become attracted to Tim. But why shouldn't she be attracted to Tim. He was everything she wanted in a man and more. She thought about it a little more and then smiled. But this was a different smile. This was the smile of a feline temptress thinking of the different ways she would beguile and lure her prey into her web until he was hers. Ziva started laughing as she pictured how Tim would look when she started her seduction on him.

Ziva didn't do things half way. Once she figured out what she wanted, she went for it with gusto. And now, Ziva had just figured out she wanted one Special Agent Timothy McGee.


	3. Chapter 3

**Lost Love Found Love Chap 3!**

 **I know it's been a long delay. I apologize.**

 **This Chapter Tim and Ziva enjoy a weekend at the beach. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I rarely, if ever, write cannon. I write how the story takes me.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS or any of their characters. In other words, I Own Nothing.**

Chapter 3: Discovery

 _Ziva has just pulled up to the hotel_

"Ziva"

Tim shouted as she pulled into the check in lane of the hotel. He ran around the car and as Ziva got out of the car, he picked her up and swung her around. Ziva put her arms around Tim's neck and threw her head back as she started laughing as his exuberance. He finally put her down smiling at her and Ziva, on impulse kiss Tim on the cheek before asking him where the room was. Tim, who was blushing from the kiss, took her bag out the car, grabbed her hand and started leading her inside the hotel and up to their suite. He was smiling and talking to her the whole time and Ziva was smiling back at him, enjoying his rambling. When they got to the suite, he showed her which room was hers.

"So Ziva" Tim began, "do you want to freshen up first or jump straight into being a beach bum?"

Ziva looked at his smiling face and the butterflies started in her stomach again.

"I think I wish for you to teach me on how to be this beach bum" she requested.

"Your wish is my command my lady, go put your bathing suit on we will start on our journey into beach bumness" he said happily.

Ziva frowned at him at said "Timothy, I know I am still learning the English language but I do not think bumness is a word" she said confused.

Tim just smiled that smiled that she loved

"That's the magic of being a beach bum Ziva, we don't need real words. All we need is you, me and the beach. We can be as silly as we want to be because we are not trained agents while we are here. We are beach bums with no cares or responsibilities. Everything we do will be done on the spur of the moment. We are free from those real world trappings Ziva. We are free," he shouted.

Ziva loved this Tim and she loved the prospect of them just being them with nothing expected of them. She could get to like this beach bumness.

"Ok Timothy, I will be right back." Ziva started to turn to her room then stopped and turned back around to face Tim. "Unless, you would like to help me into my bathing suit," she said demurely?

Tim just stood there with his mouth open staring at her. Ziva could see his ears turning red. Ziva started laughing as she went into her room to change. Yes, this was going to be a great weekend. She was going to torture Timothy mercilessly with her seduction. Normally, she wouldn't do something like this but she was not planning on torturing him without letting him get the prize. She wanted Tim and she was going to have Tim. He had no idea that he was already off the market for any other female. Ziva came back out with a big shirt over her bathing suit clad body.

"I am ready Timothy," she called out to him.

"Ok Ziva, let's go get this weekend started"

Again, he took her hand and led her out of the room and out of the hotel. He took her down to the beach where he already had an area set up for them. He had two lounge chairs set up with towels on them and a cooler between them. He had an umbrella positioned just right so the sun wasn't beating down on them but could be moved if they wanted to tan. Ziva smiled at the set up and immediately knew how she was going to start her seduction of her unsuspecting beach bum partner. Ziva let her lounge chair all the way down so that it lay flat. She had to bend over to do this and made sure she was bent over right in front of Tim's view. She snuck a peek under her arm and saw that Tim was mesmerized by her derrière. He stood there staring not realizing what he was doing. Ziva had to suppress a giggle as she made sure to wiggle her butt as she rearranged the towels until they were just right. Ziva was giddy herself thinking she was going to finally get one of her fantasies fulfilled. She had long ago noticed that Tim had very big hands with long fingers. She had wondered what those hands would feel like caressing her body. She reached into her bag and pulled out some suntan lotion.

"Timothy, I am going to need you to rub this on my back" she stated handing him the bottle.

Still in a fog from the image of Ziva bent over, Tim was having trouble focusing.

Ziva took her shirt off and thought Tim was going to pass out. Instead of a bathing suit, Ziva had on a very skimpy yellow bikini that accentuated her curves perfectly. Ziva lay down and released the clasp on the back of her bikini top.

Once again Tim just stood there looking down at this vision of loveliness. Tim was worried though. How was he going to rub suntan lotion on Ziva and not embarrass himself when he stood up with a tent in his trunks?

Ziva pretended to have her eyes closed but was squinting so she could see his face. It took all of her training not to burst out laughing at the look on his face. She almost felt sorry for him, almost. Ziva decided to up the ante. Ziva half turned to look up at Tim letting the bikini top slip down a little so it was barely covering her.

"Timothy, are going to rub the lotion on me," she asked?

The question snapped him out of his fog "Oh, uh yeah Ziva. Sorry, forgot what I was doing for a second," he stammered.

Ziva turned back over and once again lay down waiting for Tim to rub the lotion on her. Tim sat down beside Ziva and squeezed the lotion into his hands and rubbed them together. He then started at her shoulder blades and started massaging the lotion into her soft skin. Ziva had fantasized about how this would feel but her fantasies were nothing compared to the real thing. Tim's big hands were gentle but firm on her. Ziva zoned out and started moaning as Tim continued to massage the lotion into her skin going lower and lower. When he had finished her lower back, he was getting ready to get up when she told him not to forget her sides. He squeezed more lotion into his hands and started working it into her sides starting at her waist. By the time he had worked his way up to the sides of her upper body, Ziva was again moaning in total bliss. Tim was wondering if she wanted him to continue seeing as there were no sides left, only the outsides of her breast.

"Do not stop Timothy," Ziva moaned.

Well, that settled that. Tim put more lotion in his hands and started massaging it into the sides of her breast. It was like an electric shock went through both of them. Ziva had zoned out again and Tim forgot what he was doing and instead of massaging lotion onto the sides of her breast, he started softly caressing her breast. Ziva's moaning got louder which snapped Tim out of his trance. He took his hands away which brought Ziva out of her zone. She turned her head toward Tim and smiled.

"Could you do my legs now please," she requested.

Tim thought, just shoot me now. He slid down toward Ziva's legs and again squeezed the lotion into his hands and started massaging the lotion into her strong beautiful legs. He started at her feet and worked his way up. Ziva had zoned out again and as Tim moved higher and higher, she opened her legs more and more. When Tim got to the top of her thighs, Ziva's body was vibrating. No one had ever got her body to this pitch and Tim had accomplished it just by putting suntan lotion on her. Ziva had stopped moaning and Tim figured she had dropped off to sleep. Tim stopped massaging her legs and started trying to figure out a strategy on how to get to the water to cool off with this tent in his trunks. Tim looked down and saw the boogie board he had forgotten about. He picked it up and took off running toward the water. He held the board in front of him as he ran and dove into the water. Tim figured he would just stay in the water and let Ziva sleep. He would go back in about a ½ an hour to wake her so she wouldn't burn. Tim did take pleasure in knowing he wasn't the only one affected by him putting suntan lotion on Ziva. As he was putting the lotion on her thighs, he noticed that Ziva's bikini bottom was wet in only one spot. He thought that moaning might have just been for his benefit but apparently she was really enjoying his hands on her. He couldn't refute the evidence when it was staring him in the face. He smiled thinking that was quite impressive that someone like him was able to get someone as hot as Ziva turned on. Tim had been swimming about 20 minutes when Ziva started to come out of her erogenous state.

"That was wonderful Timothy, I will do you now, yes" Ziva stated not knowing Tim was gone?

When she didn't get a response, she raised her head and looked around, "Tim?"

She finally spotted him in the water and smiled thinking now I get to get my hands on him. Ziva fastened her bikini top and got up walking purposely toward the water. She had a lot of male admirers but her eyes were for one unsuspecting beach bum. Tim was looking out into the ocean as a yacht went by so he had no clue that he was being stalked until Ziva landed on his back.

"I have you now Timothy. I have captured my first beach bum" she said laughing.

Tim, surprised by the weight on his back and the soft breast pressing into his shoulders recovered quickly.

"Oh really!"

Tim walked out a little deeper into the water before turning around and facing the shore. Finally realizing what he was going to do,

Ziva shouted "You would not dare."

"Yes, I think I would dare," he responded.

Tim just simply fell back into the water, effectively dunking Ziva in the cold salty water. She came up sputtering as Tim was laughing so hard he could hardly breathe. Ziva narrowed her eyes at him.

"This means war Timothy," Ziva stated threateningly.

"Bring it on Ninja Girl," Tim responded.

They played in the water for another 30 minutes before deciding to call it a day at the beach. As they were coming out of the water, Ziva jumped on Tim's back and said he must carry her for leaving her sleeping alone. Tim had no problem with having this scantily clad exotic beauty on his back with those gorgeous legs wrapped around him and happily carried his burden up to their spot. When they arrived, Ziva slid very slowly off of his back making sure she was in complete contact with him until her feet hit the ground. They gathered up their possessions and headed back to the hotel. Ziva grabbed Tim's hand and happily chatted away while holding his hand all the way to the room. Once they were in the room, Tim took charge.

"Ok Ziva, go take a shower and throw on some shorts and a light top. It will remain humid even when the sun goes down. You have had a full day and I would be remiss if I didn't take you to get something to eat. We'll leave in about 30 minutes."

Smiling, Ziva walked over to Tim and gave him a peck on the lips, "Ok Timothy, I will be ready."

She then turned and walked to her room in a way that Tim had never seen her walk before. He had never seen her hips sway like that. Maybe they always did and he just never noticed. But why did she kiss him? If it had been any other woman, Tim would swear he was being seduced. But it wasn't any other woman. It was Ziva and Tim knew she was into Tony, not him. Even though he wished it could be more between them, he was content to have her as a friend. Tim put it out of his mind and rushed into his room to shower and get ready for dinner.

After they had showered and dressed and were heading out, Ziva asked if they were driving and Tim answered no because where he was taking her was not that far. As they strolled along waterfront toward the restaurant, Ziva put her left arm around Tim's waist and took his right hand and lifting his arm, ducked under it so he was hugging her around her shoulders. Tim was surprised but pleasantly so. They continued to talk about everything as they strolled toward the restaurant. Ziva loved the restaurant Tim had picked. The food was good and the atmosphere was care free. Ziva played footsie with Tim under the table throughout the meal. Tim just took it in stride grateful that Ziva thought enough of him as a friend to let her hair down, so to speak, without having to worry about being hit on. When asked about dessert, Tim said no because he had a surprise for Ziva. Tim paid the tab and they left the restaurant continuing the way they had started. Ziva, once again, snuggling up to Tim and getting back into their stroll position. Ziva was having a marvelous time just strolling with Tim with his arm around her. She hardly noticed when he stopped. She looked up and saw him smiling down at her. He turned her a little so she could see why they had stopped. He had brought her to an ice cream parlor that made their ice cream from scratch. Ziva squealed and grabbed Tim's hand to drag him inside. They made their selection and wandered around the store while they waited. When their ice cream was ready, Tim paid and took her hand leading her back outside. They both had ordered cones so they could eat while they walked. Tim took her toward the beach were they benches placed so you could sit and look out at the ocean. Tim selected a bench and sat down pulling Ziva down beside him. Ziva tucked her feet up to the side and took Tim's free hand and placed around her. His hand came to rest on her hip and she snuggled into him as they ate their ice cream and watched the boats go by. No conversation was necessary. Ziva thought this was the most perfect night she had ever had. She was so content just sitting here with Tim's arm around her. She snuggled into to Tim some more trying to burrow into him. She just couldn't seem to get close enough to him. Tim, feeling Ziva burrowing into him, turned his head and gave her a soft gentle kiss on her temple and tightened his hold on her while caressing her side. Ziva knew she could very easily fall in love with this man. He was everything a woman would want in a man and more. Ziva had fallen into a dream like state when Tim nudged her and whispered in her ear that they should head back. This time when they started walking back to the hotel, Tim didn't wait for Ziva to position them. He just draped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close while she wrapped her arm around his waist and leaned into him. They stayed this way all the way up to their suite. Tim disengaged himself or tried to but Ziva wouldn't let him go. He looked into her eyes and saw that she was his for the taking but he would not take advantage of her. He would not do that to Tony either. He leaned down and kissed her lightly on the lips, said good night and went into his room. Ziva stood there for a long time. She could still taste him on her lips. She was not angry though. She knew what had happened. Her sweet Timothy was to much of a gentleman and friend to take advantage of a situation. He didn't invite her down here to seduce her. He invited her down because he considered her to be a good friend and wanted her to have a good time. She could not be mad at him for the being who he was. No, she would not be angry for him being the man she was falling in love with. Yes, she was frustrated. All of that hunk of man in there going to waste while she was out here literally dripping for want of him. She sighed and turned to go into her room. This was not acceptable to her. She made a resolution that Tim would be hers and he would be hers before they left Virginia Beach. That was all there was to it.

They got up the next morning and went and had a fabulous breakfast. The awkwardness, that each thought would come never happened. After breakfast, Tim took Ziva to a go cart race track where Ziva could really let out her wild driving side. She loved it. She laughed the entire time as she and Tim chased each other around the course. Some locals, who had stopped racing the tourists because they didn't know what they were doing, were watching the two and decided these two could provide a challenge for them. Before you knew it, there were 7 of them chasing each other around the course. The new comers thought if they could catch up to the hot brunette, they would have a shot at asking her out on a date. The only problem was they couldn't catch her. Not only could they not catch her but they couldn't even catch the nerd. They were further astonished to see the nerd catch and pass the hot brunette. At first they thought she let him do it until they saw her face. There was no way she had let him catch and pass her. All of the go carts were set at the same speed. What made the difference in winning out here was skill. The locals watched helplessly as the nerd and the hottie took the curves like they were nothing. They barely slowed down going around them. The locals figured after the race they would still go try their luck with the hottie. After the last race, they were all taking their equipment off to turn in when the hottie came running at them with a big smile on her beautiful face. She ran right through them and jumped into the arms of the nerd. They watched as she planted a big kiss on him and started telling how much fun that was. Even her accent was sexy. They had no idea how a guy like him could get a girl like her but it was obvious she only had eyes for him.

After they left the go cart track, they headed back to their suite so they could change and head down to the beach. They were able to grab their same spot and get settled in. Smiling evilly, Ziva pulled out the bottle of suntan lotion.

"Timothy, I got jibbed yesterday. I did not get to put suntan lotion on you. Come and lay here so I may put it on you," Ziva stated.

"You got jipped Ziva, not jibbed" Tim corrected as lay down on his stomach.

Grinning from ear to ear, Ziva climbed on Tim's back and sat down on his butt as she started massaging the lotion into his shoulder blades. Ziva had noticed Tim had lost weight but she did not know that he had turned what was left over into muscle. Ziva lost herself in massaging Tim's body. All she could think about as she caressed his back was tonight he would be hers.

"Uh Ziva" Tim started. "I think you have me covered pretty well."

Ziva snapped into the present and asked to Tim to turnover so she could do his front. He flat out refused. Smiling, because she knew why he would not turnover, Ziva decided to have some fun.

"Timothy, you must turn over now so can I make sure you have the proper amount of lotion on your front," she requested.

"No, that's ok Ziva, I'm good," he responded.

Ziva did something Tim thought he would never see, Ziva pouted. She pouted quite prettily to but the idea of this very dangerous woman pouting because he would not let her rub lotion on his front was to much for Tim. He started chuckling first and then it turned into a full out belly laugh as he took a peek at her again and saw she was still pouting with her arms crossed in front of her. Ziva was trying desperately to suppress the laughter that was bubbling up inside of her. Tim's laughter was infectious and seeing her always serious Tim this relaxed and carefree brought joy to her heart.

"This is not funny Tim, you are jibbing me again," she said still pouting.

"Its jipping Ziva, jipping," he corrected her still laughing.

Ziva was still sitting on Tim and as the laughter had helped ease the problem he had with turning over an idea came to Tim. In one quick move, he turned over so that Ziva was now sitting on his stomach which immediately brought a smile to her face. The smile vanished instantly to surprise as Tim stood up, picking her up in the process. Ziva instinctively wrapped her legs around Tim's waist and her arms around his neck bringing her nose to nose with him. Tim also instinctively put his hands underneath Ziva's butt to hold her up. Now this was more like it Ziva thought smiling ear to ear. Ziva was so busy looking into Tim's eyes that she didn't notice he was walking toward the water. When Tim had walked into the water, he got a devilish look on his face as he turned around to face the shore. Ziva saw the look and only had an instant of realization where they were before he stole a kiss from her and fell back into the water. Once again Ziva came up sputtering as Tim laughed at her. Ziva narrowed her eyes at him and pounced. They played in the water like kids for about 40 minutes before coming out to dry off. Ziva again engaging in her mode of transportation, riding on Tim's back. Once they were dry, Tim stated they would do their own fronts before Ziva could start in on him again. Pouting prettily once again, Ziva reluctantly agreed. Ziva had finished and was already lying back to let the sun do its job of bronzing her. Before he lay back, Tim set the alarm on his phone just in case they fell asleep. He was quite sure Ziva would be ok but he knew he would burn and that just was not acceptable. When Tim's alarm went off, he woke Ziva and they sprinted back to water to cool off and have more play time. When they came back to their area, they started packing up their things and heading to the hotel. Tim was giving Ziva a run down on what he had planned for them for the evening. Although she listened to him attentively, Ziva had other ideas for their evening. They would have to leave today so they could get a good night's rest since they had to work the next day.

Once in their suite, Tim turned to his room to go take a shower but was stopped as Ziva had not let go of his hand. He turned back to her to ask what was wrong when she stepped into his personal space and kissed him hard. Tim, initially surprised, wrapped his arms around Ziva and returned the kiss. When they broke apart, Ziva looked into his eyes and saw the indecision going on there. He was trying to do the right thing and not take advantage of her. Ziva was not having it. She was a grown woman and knew what she wanted. This was one time she did not want him to be a gentleman. She wanted him wild and untamed as they did unmentionable things to each other. She knew he wanted her too. When he had picked her up at the beach, she had felt him harden beneath her as he carried her to the water. She looked at him and whispered softly to him

"Timothy McGee, I want you."

Even though Tim thought Tony had cheated on Ziva with Abby, he still did not want to come between them.

"Ziva," he said in a strangled voice, "I don't want to come between you and Tony."

He dropped his arms from around her, turned and went into his room.

Ziva had been surprised by his statement so she didn't even know he had gone into his room until she heard the door close. Me and Tony she thought where did that come from? It then dawned on her why he would not go further. He thought she was seeing Tony and being who he was, he would not interfere in a relationship. Ziva saw red. She did not know where he got this silly idea from but it ended here and now. She marched into his room and saw him lying on his back staring at the ceiling. It looked like he had sat down on the edge of the bed and then just laid back. She marched over to him and got on top of him straddling him. He sat up and put his arms around her waist so she wouldn't fall.

"Listen to me carefully Timothy," she snarled. "There is nothing between me and Dinozzo. He is a coworker and a friend only. I have never had any romantic feelings for him. They have only been for you."

She then leaned and kissed him into oblivion. After a while, Tim broke the kiss and looked into her eyes.

"But I thought, I mean you two are always flirting so I just thought there was more," he said sadly.

"You thought incorrectly. There has never been anything between us there never will be. I am sitting on the lap of the only man I want to be with," Ziva stated.

Tim felt a like a dam had been released inside of him. He stood up and swung Ziva around laughing uncontrollably. Ziva was his he thought. She didn't want Tony, she wanted him. He finally stopped twirling her around. He sat back down on the bed with her again straddling him and kissed her like she had been dying for him to kiss her the whole weekend. This was the Tim she wanted. This was the Tim who was holding nothing back. He plundered her mouth hungrily and she moaned in the back of her throat. She started trying to get his shirt off so she could get to that luscious skin. Tim broke the kiss and took his shirt off leaving him in just his swimming trunks. Ziva also pulled her shirt off leaving her in just her bikini. Ziva started caressing his shoulders as she kissed him. Tim was caressing her back and when he got to the latch on her bikini top, he undid it and let it drop between them. Now he had free access over her entire back and his magic fingers had Ziva moaning once again. Tim stood with Ziva in his arms and walked around the bed so he could lay her on it. After laying her there he stood and removed his trunks. Ziva thought Tim would be big because of the size of his hands and was pleasantly surprised to see that she was right. Tim walked around to the foot of the bed and crawled up to Ziva's legs and removed her bikini bottoms. He was mesmerized by this exotic beauty who was his. Tim moved up her body until he was looking down into her beautiful eyes. He bent down and once again plundered her mouth as he kissed her. Ziva wrapped her arms around his around his neck and hooked one leg over his as she was lost in a fog of passion. Once their passion was spent, they clung to each other. Tim pulled the covers up over them and they both slept better than they had slept in a long time.

Tim woke up around 5:00 pm. He looked at Ziva's sleeping form half draped over him and smiled. He had planned for them to get on the road at about 8:00 pm so they could arrive home between 11:30 and midnight. He smiled, thinking it was adorable, as Ziva snored softly. He disentangled himself from her and went out into the suite to order room service for them. They told him it would take about 30 minutes. More than enough time he thought. He went back into the room and climbed on the bed and started kissing and giving little bites to Ziva's back and neck. Ziva started moaning again as Tim starting caressing her body. Ziva woke from a wonderful dream to an even better reality. Tim already had her body vibrating. She smiled as little electric shocks ran through out her body. Tim had taken her to heights she had never reached before and had thoroughly satisfied her. Her body had been a puddle of goo as she had drifted off to sleep. He was now stirring up those same sensations again. Ziva turned over with a smile on her face. She took his smiling face between her hands and brought his head down and kissed him senseless. Sparks flew and once again there were only moans and groans coming from the entanglement of arms and legs on the bed.

Later, Tim was lying on his back with Ziva again draped over him. She seemed to love the fact that Tim was a large man and she could just lay on him. They were talking softly when there was a knock at the door. Tim knew it was room service and told Ziva to go get her robe and put it on as he was grabbing his robe. Ziva dashed naked to her room to get the robe. Tim waited to her door was closed before he opened the outer door and ushered the waiter in. He told him to set everything up on the table and they would take it from there. When the waiter was done, Tim signed the tab, giving the waiter a huge tip. He thanked Tim profusely before being shown out. Ziva came out when she heard the door close and looked at all the items Tim had ordered for them. They were both starving as they had not eaten since breakfast. Tim held a chair out for Ziva and as she went to sit down, she stole a quick kiss from him. They ate slowly as they were enjoying their conversation just as much as the food. When they were done eating, it was almost 7:00 pm so Tim let Ziva know it was time to shower and get ready to leave. Tim didn't take into account that Ziva had a voracious sex drive and came into his shower with him to have some more Tim. Being the genius that he was, Tim did not complain at all as he picked Ziva up and pressed her back against the shower wall and proceeded to give her exactly what she wanted. When they were finally done abusing the shower, they packed and were on their way downstairs when they encountered a problem. They wanted to ride home together but they had both drove.

"I know Ziva, I'll have the hotel store your car and we can come back next weekend and get it," Tim explained.

"But how will I get to work and home," Ziva asked?

Tim got a devilish look on his face

"We will ride in together and ride home together. You will stay with me at my place or I will stay with you at your place. It really doesn't matter to mean just as long as I get to go to sleep with you in my arms and wake up with you in my arms," Tim told her.

Ziva looked away from him as she did not want him to see the tears that came to her eyes hearing his declaration. She did not want him to think she was one of those silly women who cried over everything. Tim gently took her chin in his hand and turned her head so she was facing him again

"It's ok my beautiful ninja, you never have to hide anything from me. I know exactly who you are and you are exactly what I want. Never think you have to keep anything from me," Tim said quietly.

Ziva reached up brought his face down to her and kissed him until they heard someone clearing their throat. They broke apart smiling at each other and said hello to the older couple who had been watching with smiles on their faces. Tim went and spoke to the manager about storing Ziva's car. At first, it looked like the manager wasn't going to go for it until Tim pulled a book out of his bag, signed it and handed it to the manager. The manager looked at the book and then back at Tim with his mouth open. Once he was able to function again, the manager couldn't do enough for Tim. He told him that he would personally see that the car was stored away from any other cars to ensure no dings or scratches occurred. Ziva was amazed at the change in the manager and wondered what the book was.

Tim came back to Ziva and slung his arm around her shoulder as she wrapped her arms around his waist. Tim helped Ziva into his convertible Porsche Boxster before stowing their bags and getting in. Neither one of them noticed that they were the center of many envious stares. Tim started the car and off they went heading back home. Ziva waited until they got on the highway before her curiosity got the better of her and she turned to Tim.

"Ok Timothy, what did you say to that manager and what was that book that you handed him?"

Tim gave a small chuckle

"Look in the glove compartment," he told her.

Ziva looked in the glove compartment and found two books in there. She took one out and read the title and the author.

"Do you know Thom E. Gemcity," Ziva asked.

Again Tim chuckled

"There is a picture of him in the back of the book," Tim told her.

Ziva looked in the back of the book and her eyes got big. There was a picture of her Tim here. But why would his picture be in Thom E. Gemcity's book unless. She looked over at Tim and shouted

"You are Thom E. Gemcity!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Lost Love Found Love Chap 4!**

 **This Chapter Tim and Ziva are back in the bullpen but things are not the same. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer 1: I rarely, if ever, write cannon. I write how the story takes me.**

 **Disclaimer 2: I don't own NCIS or any of their characters. In other words, I Own Nothing.**

Chapter 4: Back at Work

 _The Monday morning after Tim and Ziva's weekend of discovery_

Tim and Ziva arrive early at work together. They had left her car in Virginia Beach and Ziva is staying with Tim until they can go down and retrieve her car. Knowing that HQ has cameras everywhere, they don't hold hands or touch at all. They make sure that they look the same as always. When they get to the bullpen, they see they are the first ones in. They go to their desks and set their coffees down as they boot up their computers. Tim goes and unlocks the cold case file while Ziva starts turning on lights. Tim takes out 20 cold case files. He puts 10 on Ziva's desk and he takes the other 10 to his desk. They both settle down into their seats and get to work on their cases. Not a word has been spoken between them. There is no need. They thought they were the first ones in but there was one who was even earlier. He was now standing above them on the catwalk looking down on his two dedicated agents with appreciation. Leon Vance watched as Ziva and Tim dove into their cold cases. Leon went back into his office. He had only come out to see who was in this early. The two agents worked steadily throughout the early part of the morning as other agents started to come in.

"Ziva, could you come over here for a minute please, I want your input on this," Tim requested.

"Of course Tim," she responded.

Ziva came over and leaned over his shoulder as she had done all the other times he had asked her to look at something on his computer. He pointed out what he wanted her to look at and she saw why he wanted another pair of eyes. It looked like Tim had a breakthrough on this cold case but he wanted to make sure. As she started giving her input into what she was looking at, the elevator dinged and Gibbs, Dinozzo and Abby got off the elevator. They took in the scene of Ziva leaning over McGee's shoulder pointing to something on the screen as they discussed a cold case. Even though it was easy to see they were in this position to discuss a case, both Abby and Tony felt a spark of jealousy. They also felt a little envious as they noticed the two agents were both sporting new tans. Ziva finished her conversation with Tim and moved back to her desk while greeting the three. Tim also said good morning to them before immediately turning back to his cold case. Gibbs went and sat down at his desk as did Tony. Abby just sort of stood around not knowing what to do. Normally, they would engage in conversation but no one was saying anything. She tried to get McGee to engage her in conversation.

"Hey Timmy, how was your weekend?

"It was fine." he responded in a flat voice continuing to type into his computer.

Both Gibbs and Tony looked over to at Tim who was still typing into his computer. They had never heard use that tone of voice when addressing Abby. They also knew that whenever Abby addressed Tim, he would drop everything and look at her with his puppy eyes. He had barely spared a glance at her. Abby looked at Gibbs and Tony silently asking them what was going on with McGee. Tony just shrugged and Gibbs just stared at McGee as though he could see inside his head. Well, at least he was talking to them again about none work topics. With no answer from either of them, Abby decided she had better get down to her lab and get to work. As she turned to go, she took another look back at McGee who still had not looked up at her. Abby didn't like not being noticed. She always wanted to be the center of attention. She stepped on the elevator noticing Tim was still not paying her any attention. Something would have to be done about this.

Tony was also trying to figure out why McGee had practically ignored Abby while she was there. He didn't even look at her while she was there and that definitely wasn't McGee like. Tony knew if he came right out and asked McGee what was going on, he would not receive and answer so he decided to be sneaky and engage McGee in idle chit chat and hope something slipped out.

"So Probie, what did you do this weekend? You seem to be sporting a very nice tan there." Tony stated.

Tim continued typing and ignored Tony. Tony looked over at Gibbs and then Ziva before looking back at Tim. What the hell was going on Tony wondered.

"McGee, did you hear me talking to you" Tony asked raising his voice a little?

"Yeah, I heard you" Tim responded. "I'm trying to work here Tony, can you just talk to Boss or Ziva and leave me the hell alone so I can concentrate on this cold case."

All three agents were surprised by McGee's response. They shouldn't have been as McGee had already told them not to talk to him about anything that wasn't work related. They all looked at each other with bewildered looks on their faces. Tony was wrecking his brain trying to figure out what the hell he had done to piss Tim off. He couldn't think of anything. He had not played any pranks on him and he had not called him any nick names other than Probie this morning. What was going on?

Ziva was looking at Tim for a different reason. They had just had a wonderful weekend together and even when they came in this morning Tim was in a happy mood. That had changed as soon as the elevator had pinged and Gibbs, Tony and Abby had stepped off. That told her who he had a problem with but not why. He had not discussed any problems at the office with her but then again, they had not discussed work at all as they were busy getting their beach bumness on this weekend. She smiled a little at the term Tim had made up and at the wonderful weekend they had just shared together. The smile left her face as she watched Tim. He was not relaxed and didn't seem to be in a talkative mood. She would just have to wait until after work to speak to him about whatever was bothering him.

Gibbs was staring at McGee trying to will him to look over at him which of course didn't work. Tim was only staring at his computer screen as he worked. Gibbs, as well as everyone else, could see that there was something bothering Tim but getting it out of him would be like pulling teeth. Tim was a very private person and did not discuss his personal life without some serious coercion. Gibbs didn't like distractions on his team and was just about to get up and go talk to Tim when his phone rang.

"Gibbs," he answered and then listened. "Ok, got it."

'Gear up, dead marine" he yelled.

Gibbs looked up as he spoke and saw only Tony standing there with a wide eyed look on his face. Gibbs immediately got pissed that two of his team had skipped out delaying their departure.

"Where are McGee and David," he yelled at Dinozzo? "They're making us late".

"Actually boss, they're making us early," Dinozzo stated.

"Oh yeah, and how is that Dinozzo" Gibbs spat?

"Well Boss, Probie left saying he would gas up the truck and Ziva left saying she would get the other vehicle. They both had their gear with them as they ran down the steps."

"Let's go" was all Gibbs said.

When they got outside, the sedan was idling with no one in it while the truck was behind it with both Tim and Ziva in it ready to go. Gibbs got in the driver's seat while Tony scrambled around to the passenger seat and off they went with Tim and Ziva right on their tail. When they arrived at scene, Gibbs started barking orders as he walked toward the officers who were first on the scene. He turned around to say something to his team and found none of them there. He looked around and saw they were already engaged in the tasks that he given them. Tony and Ziva had acknowledge him when he gave them their orders but Tim just nodded and left to completed the task he had been given. By the time Gibbs had received the report from the first on scene officers; Ducky had arrived and assessed the dead marine. He gave Gibbs the information and moved on to help Jimmy get the body in their medical truck. Gibbs called his team over to get a report. After they had each reported, Gibbs had Tim and Ziva take the evidence back to HQ so Abby could get started on it. Without saying a word, they both turned and went to carry out his orders. He watched them as Ziva went into the house to collect her gear and Tim started collecting the evidence bags they had accumulated. In no time, they had everything stowed in the truck and were on their way. Gibbs just shook his head and went to help Tony finish speaking to the neighbors. Tim and Ziva discussed the evidence they had collected and how it could help them solve the case. When they got to HQ, Tim told Ziva to take the evidence to Abby and he would restock the truck. They parted to go carry out their tasks.

Ziva entered the lab and walked over to Abby who had some hard rock music blasting over the sound system.

"Abby!" Ziva called out trying to get the Goth's attention to no avail.

"Abby!" she tried again a little louder still with no result.

"Abby!" she tried one more time louder still and still did not get a response.

Ziva walked over to Abby and tapped her on the shoulder. Abby screamed and jumped around staring at Ziva while trying to catch her breath. Ziva picked up the remote and turned the music down.

"Jeez Ziva, I know you're a ninja but make some noise or something. You just about scared me to death."

"I am sorry I frightened you. I called your name three times and you did not answer. Here is the evidence from our current case Gibbs wants you to analyze" Ziva said while handing Abby the evidence. As Ziva turned to leave, Abby called out to her.

"Ziva"

Turning back to Abby, Ziva responded

"Yes Abby"

"Did I do something to Tim?" she asked

"I do not know Abby. I think that is the question that I should be asking you." Ziva stated.

"I don't think I did. I don't remember doing anything to him. The last time I saw him was last week and seemed ok. I didn't see him over the weekend. He looked like he had a good weekend going by the tan he has. If I did something to him, I don't know what it was." Abby said sadly.

"Maybe it's not you. McGee does not seem to be speaking to anyone right now. Maybe he is upset at something else and does not want to talk to anyone" Ziva theorized.

Abby thought about that and seemed to make sense to her. Well, he had better get his act together she thought. She didn't like being ignored.

"That makes sense to me. Thanks Ziva."

"You are welcome Abby." Ziva said as she once again turned to leave. As Ziva left the lab, her thoughts were troubled. She knew what she had told Abby was not the problem. She had just spent one of the best weekends of her life with Tim. She also knew he had awakened still in a good mood this morning if the way he woke her up was any indication. A tingle went through her body as the erotic images of the two them flashed through her mind. No, his mood had not altered until those three had stepped off the elevator. As she entered the bullpen she put the matter on hold. She would pursue this later on tonight when they were alone.

Tim was at his desk busy pulling up anything he could find on their current case. Tim tended to get so engrossed in his work that he could shut out everything that was going on around him. He did not notice the strange stares he was getting from his three teammates. He did not hear Gibbs ask for a report until Gibbs yelled his name.

"McGee!"

Tim jumped, startled from his task and looked around seeing Gibbs, Tony and Ziva standing up at the plasma looking at him. Tony had a smirk on his face at Tim's reaction. Ziva had a worried look on her face and Gibbs had an angry look on his face.

"What?" Tim responded getting angry.

A little startled at McGee's response, Gibbs barked "Report!"

Tim got up and went to the plasma. Ziva handed him the clicker. He gave her a brief smile before launching into the information he had pulled up so far. After he was done, Gibbs started barking orders.

"Dinozzo, David go bring in the suspects for questioning. McGee, continue to pull up any and all information you can find on these idiots."

Tony was the only one who acknowledged Gibbs. "On it boss."

As Tony and Ziva left, Tim had already sat back down at his desk and once again was lost in cyberspace as he tried to locate clues for the case. Tim had been at it nonstop for about an hour when Gibbs called him.

"McGee, with me" he barked"

Tim looked up and saw Gibbs headed to the elevators. He locked his workstation and followed him. Once in the elevator, Gibbs hit the stop button and just stared at McGee. McGee started squirming under his intense gaze but didn't say anything. Gibbs let this go on for another minute before speaking.

"Talk to me McGee." Gibbs started off.

"Talk to you about what exactly?" Tim responded.

"About whatever is bothering you McGee." Gibbs stated.

He then witnessed Tim's face just turn to stone as his entire demeanor changed from one of nervousness to one of anger and defiance.

"Didn't we already have this discussion? Whatever is bothering me is none of your concern. It is a personal matter which I will handle privately. If you feel my work is being negatively affected, I can put in for immediate leave until I have resolved the issue" Tim stated in a calm no non sense voice.

Gibbs just looked at him. That was definitely not the answer he was expecting. He thought McGee would deny he had a problem or try to side step it all together. He not only admitted that there was a problem and he was handling it but basically told Gibbs to get lost. Gibbs, of course didn't like not knowing what was going on in the lives of his agents. Tim telling him it was none of his concern did not sit well with Gibbs.

"Yeah McGee, it is my concern. Now tell me what's going on?" Gibbs requested raising his voice a little.

"What the hell is wrong with you? You just don't listen to anyone, do you? For the last time, this is none of your damn business and I will not discuss it with you or anyone else. Now if there is nothing further, I would like to get back to work." Tim replied.

Gibbs was shocked. He thought his usual intimidation tactics would work since they always had. He could always get McGee to do or say anything he wanted him to. This person standing before him was not his McGee. Gibbs was shocked again when McGee reached past him and started the elevator. The doors opened and McGee strolled out. He walked angrily back to his desk not making eye contact with Tony or Ziva who had returned and were sitting at their desks. He sat down at his desk and once again zoned out into his world of cyberspace. Tony and Ziva were startled by the angry look on McGee's face. They both slowly turned to look at Gibbs who had a shocked look on his face as he stared at McGee.

"Uh, boss" Tony started, "we couldn't find the suspect at his last known address. The place was a mess. It looked like he packed and left in a hurry."

While Tony had been giving his brief, Tim had started printing something. Before Gibbs could respond to Tony, Tim handed at sheet of paper to each of the agents.

In a monotone, McGee spoke to Dinozzo. "Tony, here is a list of places I was able to locate that the suspect is known to frequent. I put them order of what I could gather as the suspect's favorites. Maybe you and Ziva can catch up to him at one these locations."

Tim went back to his desk and started typing leaving his fellow agents staring after him. Tony looked up at Gibbs for confirmation.

"Go" was all Gibbs said.

Tony and Ziva retrieved their gear and headed back out. Gibbs continued to stare at Tim confused. McGee had advised him that his work would not be affected by whatever this issue was and it hadn't been. The list McGee had come up with was damn fine work. Gibbs let a slight smirk twitching on his lips as he looked at the list. Tim had printed his copy in very large font. Gibbs then started frowning as he thought some more about his young agent. It was not a surprise to him that McGee did excellent work. He always did. It did surprise him that he never noticed the little things that McGee did to help the team. Case in point, the list he was looking at. To anyone else, it was just a list. To the people who knew the team intimately, it was much more. Those people in his inner circle knew Gibbs hated technology. He hated cell phone, he hated texting and he hated computers. Taking Gibbs bias against technology into consideration, instead of texting the information to their cell phones, which was much quicker and easier, McGee had printed it. Instead of printing them all in normal font, he had only printed Tony and Ziva's copies in normal font and Gibbs in very large font. Just that easily McGee had managed to avoid what could have been an embarrassing moment for Gibbs because of his poor eyesight and fear of technology. Thinking back, Gibbs could also see how Tim made sure neither Tony nor Ziva saw his copy; further protecting Gibbs from the teasing Tony would have surly done. He had done this while producing results to help catch the perpetrators and hopefully bring the case to a close. Gibbs came to the decision that he was going to have approach McGee differently when dealing with him. The young man had fought and worked his butt off to become a very good agent. Everyone knew he was a great person with high morals. Everyone seemed to forget he was also an outstanding agent. Change was never easy for Gibbs but he knew it had to be done. He could either change or take the chance of losing one of the best and brightest NCIS had to offer from his team. His whole body went cold at that thought. No, losing McGee off of his team was not an option. Yep, if change for Gibbs is what was needed to keep McGee, then change it would be.

Tony and Ziva were having a discussion about McGee as they drove to the first address.

"Come on Ziva" Tony whined, "You have to know something. Don't you have that woman's intuition thing going on? What the hell is wrong with McGee?"

"Tony, as I have told you all day. I do not know what is bothering McGee. I would also like to know so maybe I could help him but he has not spoken with me about whatever it is." Ziva stated.

"Well, do you have any ideas? This not knowing is killing me. It's Monday so whatever it is must have happened over the weekend since he was fine on Friday." Tony stated.

Ziva turned her head and stared out the window so Tony could not see her face. Her face was warm so she knew she was blushing. Tony's statement about the weekend immediately brought memories of her weekend with Tim back to her which of course brought memories of this morning back to her. All of these memories were very happy memories. The memories that were not happy memories were Very Very happy memories. Who would have guessed that kind quiet McGee was a very thorough and insatiable lover. Ziva's body started tingling again at the memories.

"ZIVA!" Tony yelled.

Ziva was startled out of her erotic trip down memory lane. She came up with a very intelligent reply for Tony.

"Huh"

"What the hell Ziva? I asked you like 5 times if you have any ideas and you just continued to stare out the window ignoring me. What the hell?" Tony shouted.

"Ok Tony, you can stop yelling. I hear you now. I apologize for ignoring you. I was lost in thought and no, I do not have any ideas." Ziva confessed.

"Well, at least you are talking to me now." Tony pouted.

Smiling, Ziva said "Oh Tony, you are such a divet."

"Diva, Ziva, the word is diva and I am not a diva" Tony huffed.

Tony and Ziva found the suspect at the first place on the list and brought him back to NCIS HQ. Gibbs questioned him and got the rest of the information they needed to break the case. The bullpen was quiet as everyone was finishing up their reports so they could leave for the day. Tim had actually finished his report and was writing up some notes on a cold case he was working on while waiting for Ziva to finish. The elevator pinged and Abby came bouncing out. She saw the team typing up their reports and wondered over to McGee's desk.

"Hey McGee" she greeted.

"Hi!" he returned in a flat voice.

Abby looked over at Gibbs with a hurt look in her eyes. Gibbs hated seeing Abby hurt on any occasion. He glared over at McGee but didn't say anything. Abby tried again.

"Timmy, could I buy you a cup of coffee after work. I have something I would really like to discuss with you?" Abby asked.

"No thank you. By the way, make sure you understand I'm actually saying no so I won't have to worry about some overzealous person coming at me about standing you up again." Tim replied as he started powering down his computer preparing to leave.

Normally, when Tim said no to someone, he would give an explanation as to why he had said it. It wasn't needed but everyone knew this was just a part of McGee's sense of courtesy. When he didn't explain why he said no but instead made sure she knew he was saying no because of his confrontation earlier with Gibbs, everyone knew just how serious an issue this was even if they didn't know what the issue was. As trained investigators, the clue that they had just been given told them that Abby was a part of the issue since he had not given her any explanation for saying no to her. Abby also knew this but still couldn't think of anything she had done to McGee. With tears in her eyes she started walking away from him.

"Ok then, maybe another time." she replied sadly.

After she had left, Tony immediately started yelling at McGee.

"What the hell McGee, why did you treat her like that? I don't know what the hell your problem is but you had better get it fixed quickly. You also better be prepared to give Abby an apology in the morning if you know what's good for you. If I ever see you treat her like that again, you and I are going to be having a talk away from the office and words won't involved."

As McGee got up to leave, he said three words that not only left Tony speechless but brought home, not only to Team Gibbs, but everyone left in the bullpen just how seriously upset Tim was.

"F**k you Tony!" He then turned to Ziva "I'll wait for you by the car."

Ziva nodded and Tim turned and left. Ziva was now angry. She knew Tim had become upset when the elevator opened this morning and Gibbs, Tony and Abby were in it. Now, in a span of 60 seconds, it had been confirmed by Tim's actions that at least 2 of the 3 people in that elevator had done something to piss Tim off. Since Tim did not hold grudges or use crude language, it also confirmed that whatever it was, it was something big for him to be this upset. Ziva finished her report and sent it off to Gibbs before shutting down her computer and hurrying after Tim while glaring at Tony. Tony was still in shock after McGee's departure but when he saw Ziva glaring at him, he knew she had come to the same conclusion he had. What the hell had he done to McGee? For the life of him he couldn't think of anything but it was obvious he had done something. Gibbs, who had been glaring at McGee after he had turned Abby down, was just as shocked as everyone else. He had never heard McGee speak to anyone the way he had spoken to Dinozzo. He had also come to the same conclusion as the rest of the team. What the hell had Dinozzo done to McGee? This was really bad. Whatever it was, McGee had maintained his professionalism with Dinozzo and Abby. He had not raised his voice or been rude to them. He had been cordial in his interactions with them. That is, up until the time when Tony felt it was necessary to rip McGee a new one. Gibbs knew that must have been the last straw as far as McGee was concerned.

"Dinozzo, with me!" Gibbs barked.

Tony looked up and saw Gibbs headed to the elevators. He got up and followed him. When they were both in the elevator and Gibbs had hit the emergency switch, Tony started before Gibbs could even say anything.

"I swear I don't know what I did boss!" he blurted out. I've been going back over the last month, hell, the last 6 months in my head and I can't think of anything I did to get Probie this angry." Tony admitted.

Gibbs had been prepared to rip Tony a new on for whatever he had done to McGee but hearing Tony's voice and the explanation he gave made him pause. He knew Tony well. If he had done anything, he would have told Gibbs at this point. Tony did pranks and got up under people skin but he would not do anything to endanger the team or upset a team member, especially McGee, like this.

"Well, you had better figure it out pretty damn quick Dinozzo. McGee is one of the most level headed people I know and for him to say what he said to you makes it abundantly clear you have done something." Gibbs stated. Gibbs flipped the switch and they exited the elevator. Meanwhile, Ziva had joined Tim at the car. They got in and neither of them spoke. It was a quiet ride home. Tim parked the car and they walked to the apartment building in silence. They rode the elevator up in silence. When they entered the apartment, Tim took Ziva into his arms and just held her. He was holding her so tight that she was having trouble breathing but she did not care. She had wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him back. If this is what he needed it was ok with her. Breathing was overrated anyway. Tim finally released his death grip on Ziva but kept her in the circle of his arms. He looked down into her eyes as he spoke.

"I know you want to talk about this but I can't right now. I'll understand if that isn't good enough for you and you want to leave" he stated quietly.

Ziva looked up into his pained filled eyes and knew there was no way she was leaving him. They had not been together long, actually just a weekend, but she had worked with him for years and knew what kind of person he was. If he said he couldn't talk about it right now, that's exactly what he meant. He was not playing any games with her.

"I am not going anywhere Timothy." she responded. "I am here for you. What do you need of me?" she asked.

"Can we take a shower and go to bed? I just want to hold you." he stated.

"Yes Timothy, that sounds wonderful. Anything you want." Ziva responded as she kissed him.

They went into the bathroom and undressed for their shower. Tim held Ziva under the spray of the hot water. He caressed her back as he held her. Ziva placed small kisses on his shoulder and chest as they were content with just being together. They finally got around to actually washing. They got out of the shower and dried each other off. They passed on the pajamas as neither one of them wanted barriers between them. Tim lay on his back and Ziva crawled over him as she had found out pretty quick that she loved lying on him. Tim was a big man and Ziva loved how she felt so small on him. Tim put both arms around Ziva and she snuggled her face into his neck loving the smell of him. They fell into a contented sleep in this position.


	5. Chapter 5

**Lost Love Found Love Chap 5!**

 **The team is having trouble adjusting to this new McGee. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer 1: I rarely, if ever, write cannon. I write how the story takes me.**

 **Disclaimer 2: I don't own NCIS or any of their characters. In other words, I Own Nothing.**

Chapter 5: Dessert

 _A week has passed_

Monday morning and Tim and Ziva are the first ones in as this has become the norm. They sat their coffee on their respective desks and then go through their normal opening routine. Ziva goes around turning on lights while Tim goes over to the cold case file cabinet, unlocks it and takes out 20 cases. He places the 10 cases that Ziva is working with on her desk and takes the other 10 that he is working on over to his desk. Without saying a word, they get down to work. Unknown to them, once again the director has beaten them in. He has been keeping an eye on his two agents as they have been turning in great work. He watches as they get lost in case after case trying to find something that was missed. He sees why they come in this early. There is nothing and no one to disturb their concentration. They work in companionable silence only interrupted when one wants the other to act as a second pair of eyes. The director goes into his office making a mental note to look at their eligibility for the next promotion cycle.

Two hours later, Gibbs walks in with his coffee. The two agents speak and continue with their work. Tony comes in a half an hour later. They speak to him and continue on with their work. Both Gibbs and Tony keep glancing at McGee who is not paying any attention to them as he is deep in concentration on his cold case. At one point, Ziva asks McGee to come over and check something for her. He looks at what she has found and they discuss the issue at length. An idea comes to Tim and he reaches around Ziva with his arms on both sides of her so he can type on her keyboard. Ziva watches her screen as Tim's hands fly across her keyboard. She has an impulse to nuzzle his neck which is right above her but she knows they have an audience. When Tim is finished and the result of his search comes up, he picks up her case file and points to something on one of the sheets and then points to the computer explaining the connection to her. As she sees the connection, she thanks Tim and takes over the typing as Tim goes back to his desk and becomes engrossed back in his cold case.

At noon, Tim locks his computer and stands getting his badge and gun. As he walks out, he informs his team he is going to lunch. As he reaches the door to the stairs, Ziva calls out to him to wait up. She also informs the team she is going to lunch. After they have left, Tony looks over at Gibbs and tries to articulate his hurt feelings without sounding like a little whinny boy.

"Boss, I still don't know what I did but I can't continue to work like this. I can't talk to Probie unless I want my head taken off."

"I don't like it either Dinozzo but there's nothing I can do about it since he won't discuss it with me either. He told me whatever it is would not affect his job performance and it hasn't. As a matter of fact, his job performance has increased. He is here two to three hours early every day. He is closing more cold cases than anyone. He is nothing but a professional at crime scenes. From what I have seen, the only ones who have a problem with him are me, you and Abby."

"I know all of that boss, but you know what I mean. I can't explain it but he is not the same Probie. Yeah, I know, he speaks in the morning and says goodbye after work. He even lets us know when he's taking lunch. All of the things he supposed to do but don't see boss, that's the problem. He only does the things he has to do when it comes to interaction between me, you and Abby. It's as though he wants nothing to do with us unless the job requires him to interact with us." Tony explained.

"Yeah, I get that Dinozzo, but again, there is nothing I can do. He does not ignore anyone who is talking to him about job related topics. Am I supposed to yell at him because he doesn't want to discuss his tan or movies with you?" Gibbs states in frustration.

"I don't know boss; can't you take him in the elevator and have one of your 'straighten up or your out of here' talks with him."

"I tried that and for a minute I thought he was going to throw a punch at me. I don't want to push him because I think it would cause him to ask for a transfer. Is that what you want, McGee to leave the team?" Gibbs asked.

Tony eyes went wide as it had never crossed his mind that McGee would leave the team. He was also surprised that Probie was angry enough to almost take a swing at the boss.

"No boss" Tony said dejectedly. "I don't want Probie to leave. I just want it back to the way it used to be."

"Well, it's quite apparent that McGee doesn't so we either suck it up and get used to the new McGee or prepare for a replacement.

Tim and Ziva were having lunch at a little Italian restaurant not far from the Navy Yard.

"Ziva?"

"Yes Tim" Ziva responded smiling.

"You are a very beautiful woman. You have to be the most gorgeous woman I have ever seen in my life. That's all. I just wanted you to know that." Tim said shyly.

Blushing, Ziva was having trouble sitting still. She wished he would not say things like that to her. Well she thought, let me rephrase that. I wish he would not say things like that when we are not alone in a big comfortable bed. Ziva knew Tim spoke from the heart. He did not just see a pretty face and a good figure but what was on the inside as well. Ziva was having trouble keeping herself in her chair after Tim's declaration. She just stared at Tim wanting to vault over the table and tackle him to the ground so she could have her wicked way with him. She might not be able to do anything about it right now but the scenarios running through her mind about what she was going to do to him tonight when she got him home would probably get her arrested in most of the United States. After taking a sip of water and clearing her throat, Ziva responded to Tim.

"Thank you Timothy. That is the most beautiful thing anyone has ever said to me. Now, unless you want me to attack you right here in this restaurant, you will not say anything more like that until we are alone and I can show you how much I appreciate you."

Tim looked into Ziva eyes and saw that she was not lying. He could see the passion smoldering in her eyes. He decided he better do as she requested and talk about something else.

"Ziva, are you free this weekend?" Tim asks.

Ziva immediately starts smiling. She has learned very quickly that when Tim asks her a question like that it is because he has a surprise in store for her and she loves his surprises. He has not disappointed her even once with his surprises. Ziva decides to play along with the game they have both become accustom to.

"Yes, I am free this weekend Timothy, why do you ask?" Ziva ask while smiling demurely.

Tim is having a hard time keeping the big smile off of his face as he knows what she is doing. He found out rather quickly that Ziva loves playing with him. He also found out rather quickly that he loves that Ziva loves playing with him.

"I have a surprise for you that I think you will like. You will need to pack a bag for the weekend which includes a formal gown." He explains.

Now Ziva is intrigued. What is going on in that brilliant head of his? She can never guess what he is planning for her. Her guesses are never even close to what he surprises her with. A sultry smile plays on her lips as she remembers that their evenings always end with Timothy bringing her to heights of ecstasy. She wouldn't mind skipping the surprise and just going to the end of the evening. She looks over at Tim and starts blushing as he is looking at her in a way that makes her think he knows what she is thinking.

The waitress comes and asks if they want any dessert which they both decline. As they are preparing to get up to leave, Tim hands Ziva a small folded up note. She opens it and reads it and her entire face turns red. Her wide startled eyes immediately find his as she starts to perspire. She is not sure if she will be able to stand. The note reads:

'My dessert is already prepared. It is nice, warm and sweet and is waiting safely for me at the apex of your thighs. When we get home, I will eat until I have had my fill and then I will slowly and thoroughly lick the bowl clean.'

As she looks into Tim's eyes she has to grip her chair hard to keep from jumping his bones right then and there. Smiling, Tim signals the waitress and asks for a glass of ice water for them both. When the waitress returns with the water, Ziva gulps hers down right away and is a little indignant when a still smiling Tim takes her empty glass and replaces it with his full one. Even in her indignation, she can't help but smile at the fact that Tim also loves to play with her. She picks up the glass and drinks. Ever the gentleman, Tim comes around the table and pulls her chair back and helps her to her feet. As she stands, she whispers in his ear that he will pay for that. Tim laughs and pretending to fix Ziva's collar leans in whispers to her that she can have all the revenge she wants after he has had his dessert. This time Ziva can't keep the laughter inside. They are both laughing as they leave the restaurant.

They walk back to the Navy Yard talking and laughing the entire way. They never touch or get to close to each other. There are eyes everywhere. When they enter the bullpen, they both are smiling and go to their respective desks and dive back into their cases as though nothing had happened. Both Gibbs and Tony stare at McGee who has become engrossed in his cold cases and is typing away at his computer and making notes as the results come back. He has not said a word since coming back to work. As they are both still watching Tim, they see a frown come on his face and then a look of horror. They watch as he picks up the phone and dials.

"Hey Ducky, is Jimmy there with you? Good, I need to speak to the both of you on a cold case I'm working on. I'll be right down. Thanks.

Tim picks up his file and his notes and heads to the elevator.

"What's going on Probie?" Tony asks.

Tim ignores him and gets in the elevator and is gone. A frustrated Dinozzo turns and tries to take his frustration out on Ziva.

"Ok Ziva, what the hell is going on with him? I'm sick of being ignored and you're going to tell me what the deal is." Tony snaps.

Even though Tim still has not told Ziva what the problem is, she knows that Tony is a part of the problem.

"Do not yell at me because you have obviously done something horrible enough to McGee to make him want nothing to do with you. I do not know what that is but do not look to me to be your punching bag. I will punch back." Ziva stated in a dangerously low voice.

"That's enough!" Gibbs snapped. This is exactly what he thought might happen. He wants to blame McGee but he can't. It's not McGee's fault that Dinozzo can't work without personal interaction with his teammates, even if that interaction is childish.

As Ziva and Tony are glaring at each other, the elevator dings and McGee, Ducky and Jimmy step off the elevator in deep discussion. They pay no attention to the rest of the bullpen as they make their way over to the stairs and start climbing up heading to the Director's office. Gibbs has had enough of being kept in the dark.

"McGee, report!" he shouts while glaring at McGee.

"Not now boss." He retorts as they keep climbing and talking.

"Yes McGee, now! Gibbs screams.

"Oh Jethro, keep it down will you." Ducky admonishes Gibbs. "Timothy will bring you up to date as soon as he is finished following the Director's orders.

Gibbs is seething but he knows better than to irritate Ducky. Apparently, the Director is also in on whatever McGee found. Everyone seems to know except for him. He was not a big fan of being kept in the dark by anyone, let alone one of his team members. As he watched them, he was surprised when the Director came out of his office and told them to come right in.

About 30 minutes later, Gibbs gets a phone call from the Director telling him to come up to his office and bring Dinozzo and David with him. When they get in the office, Gibbs starts his blustering

"Leon, what the hell is going on? Why are" that's as far as Gibbs got

"Gibbs, shut up and sit down!" The director shouted.

The room was deathly quiet after that.

"Now" the director began. We are waiting for one more and here she is now." The director finished as Abby came into the room.

"Ok, lets just jump right into this." The director begins. "This is the case with the 13 murdered little girls." Before the director can go any further, Gibbs jumps up and interrupts again.

"That was my case!" Gibbs shouts as he glares at McGee. "What the hell are you doing working on my cold case without telling me?" he screams.

"Gibbs, this is the last time I'm going to tell you so make sure you hear me clearly." The director warns. "shut the hell up! One more outburst from you and you are off this case and maybe out of a job. Are we clear?"

Gibbs gives a brief nod and sits down still glaring at McGee who is not paying any attention to him.

"Now, agent McGee, Dr. Mallard and Dr. Palmer has put together some credible information and given us our best shot at catching this bastard. The problem is this sick psycho might have been getting help from someone in NCIS. That is why only the people in this room will know anything about this op. No one will be alone. Agent Dinozzo, you will be the protection detail for Ms. Scuito.

Gibbs speaks up "Let McGee be the protection detail, I need Dinozzo in the field with me."

Vance looked at Gibbs as if he had lost his mind. "If I had not heard it with my own ears, I would not have believed it. I think you really have lost your mind Gibbs. If not that, then your perspective. After Mauher and Mexico, do you really think I would ever have agent McGee on another protection detail of Ms. Scuito. I'm starting to wonder if I can even trust you with this op."

Gibbs and Abby had the good grace to look ashamed.

"Uh yeah, I forgot about that." Gibbs says quietly.

"As I was saying." The director begins again. "Agent Dinozzo will stay in the lab with Ms. Scuito as protection. Dr. Mallard and Dr. Palmer will go in the field with Agents Gibbs, McGee and David. The doctors will take their normal vehicle to make it appear normal but they are needed to you up to date in real time as we now believe the suspect is a medical person. Agent Gibbs, you will not use normal NCIS techniques in the performance of your duties. You three are never to be separated. I repeat, under no circumstances are you to split up. I have two security agents from my detail who are above reproach. I will have them work with Stan Burley only here to try and ferret out who was helping him. Good hunting." Everyone filed out of the directors office and went to work.

The team was able to finally track down and apprehend their suspect. Once he was interrogated it was discovered that he hated all girls between the ages of 9 and 12 because that's how old his older sister was when she started abusing him. They were not able to track him before because he was an EMT. No matter where he went, if he put the lights and sirens on, he was never out of place. His source of information in NCIS was a girlfriend who cleaned the offices. She was also found to have mental issues that she was able to hide very well like a functioning alcoholic. Everyone was in the bullpen with smiles on their faces at having put this murderer away. Everyone except for Gibbs that is. He was standing glaring at McGee. Tim was shutting down his computer getting ready to leave when Gibbs stormed over to him.

"Why didn't you tell me you were working on my cold case?" he spat out.

Everyone stopped what they were doing to take in the scene. No one knew what Gibbs was so angry about.

"Didn't know it was a requirement." Tim answered calmly. "From now on, I will notify you on any cold case I work that has your name on it." Tim stated as he continued in his preparation to leave.

This made Gibbs even angrier.

"Don't get smart with me. The next time, you come to me first, not the director." Gibbs stated.

Still speaking calmly, Tim replied. "In the future, if the director has not given me a direct order to come directly to him first, I will come directly to you first as I have always done." McGee stated.

Gibbs got in McGee's face. "I didn't put any stipulations on that order. You will come to me first no matter what." Gibbs bit out.

Tim picked up his gear and as he was walking away he said "No boss, can't do that. The director is all of our boss and if he orders me to come directly to him, I will follow that order."

"McGee!" Gibbs shouted. If I ever find out that you disobeyed my order, I will have you off this team so fast it will make your head spin."

Tim turned around and walked back over to Gibbs and got into his face, nose to nose.

"What makes you think being on this back-stabbing team is so great? Do you really believe that was a threat you just made? I tell you what Gibbs, there's no sense in waiting. The director is in his office right now. Go ahead up there and tell the director you want me off your team. Oh, and just so you know, I didn't bypass you, Ducky did." Tim stated before turning and leaving.

After Tim left, Gibbs turned and looked at Ducky. "What the hell did he mean by that Duck?"

"If you had just been patient, like I asked you to, you would have been given a full explanation. The lad is right. Once Mr. Palmer and I were able to help him with the medical part of the cold case, he immediately stated he was going up to notify you. I stopped him and told him to wait until I had spoken with the director. When I called the director and explained what we had uncovered, he told the three of us to come directly to his office and not to speak to anyone. So, you see Jethro, Timothy wanted to do exactly what you had trained him to do which was come to you and yes, it was me who stopped him." Ducky finished.

Even though he was feeling like an idiot, Gibbs still wouldn't let it go.

"It doesn't matter; he still should have come and briefed me." He stated stubbornly.

The one thing had been trying to avoid had now happened. Ducky was pissed. It took quite some doing to get Ducky angry but when it happened, no one wanted to be on the receiving end.

"Are you quite daft Jethro? Are you even listening to yourself? You are trying to order Timothy to disobey the Director of NCIS. Have you gone mad? That young man has done everything by the book as he is supposed to do. He has solved a 15 year old gruesome cold case that should have you, of all people, knocking everyone else out of the way so you could congratulate him and instead you try to take him to task for doing exactly what he was ordered to do. Tell me Jethro, and think about this very carefully. What has that young lad done that was so wrong? What has he done to deserve you berating him like this? Tell me Jethro, WHAT HAS HE DONE! Ducky shouted.

Everyone in the bullpen was quiet as they had never heard Ducky shout before. As a matter of fact, they had never seen Ducky this angry. This really scared everyone, including Gibbs. He knew he was wrong. He knew he couldn't answer Ducky's question because there was no reason. Everything Ducky had said was absolutely spot on. He also knew Ducky had a special place in his heart for McGee. He knew Ducky looked at him and loved him like a grandson. He also knew the feeling was reciprocated by McGee. McGee looked at Ducky as a friend, a confidant and a grandfather all rolled up into one person. Gibbs tried to do something that went against one of his rules. He tried to apologize to Ducky but the M.E. turned his back on Gibbs and left the bullpen. As long as Gibbs had known Ducky, he had never seen him this angry. Ducky was one of the few people in the world that Gibbs could trust with his life and he might have ruined it for what; nothing but his own petty jealousies and insecurities. Gibbs felt like crap.

Ziva had turned to follow Tim out but had turned back around after Tim made that last statement. She stood transfixed as Ducky lit into Gibbs. She had never seen him this volatile. She wasn't sure Ducky wouldn't have shot Gibbs if he had possessed a gun at the moment. She felt very proud of the fact that Tim had such a strong advocate in Ducky. Tim was the strongest person she had ever met but even people with such strength still needed people they could count on. She was glad Ducky was one of those people.

Ziva looked up at the clock and started to hurry out. She had a big smile on her face as she remembered she had Tim's dessert with her and she did not want her man to be without his dessert.


	6. Chapter 6

**Lost Love Found Love Chap 6!**

 **Thank you to all the folks who are followers and have made me or the story a favorite.**

 **To my Reviewers: As always, I'm very grateful and thankful for your reviews. You guys rock.**

 **The team is having trouble adjusting to the new McGee. Gibbs seems to be having a harder time adjusting than the rest. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer 1: I rarely, if ever, write cannon. I write how the story takes me.**

 **Disclaimer 2: I don't own NCIS or any of their characters. In other words, I Own Nothing.**

 _Chapter 6: Think Before You Speak Gibbs_

The next morning following the ass chewing Gibbs received from Ducky finds the new routine for Tim and Ziva repeating itself. They are the first ones in. They sat their coffee on their respective desks and then go through their normal opening routine. Ziva goes around turning on lights and peripheral equipment while Tim goes over to the cold case file cabinet, unlocks it and takes out 20 cases. He places the 10 cases that Ziva is working with on her desk and takes the other 10 that he is working on over to his desk. Without saying a word, they get down to work.

About 2 hours later, Gibbs is the next one in. The agents speak and continue on with their work. About 30 minutes later, Dinozzo comes in. The agents again speak and continue on with their work. Tony goes and gets a couple of cold case files but does not open any. He just sits at his desk staring at McGee. He looks over at Gibbs and see's he is also staring at McGee. Tim can feel them staring and just ignores them as he lets himself get absorbed in his cases.

Three hours later McGee opens his sixth cold case file. He scans the general information and gets up out of his seat and walks over to Gibbs desk. As Gibbs looks up, Tim hands him the case file and points to Gibbs name as the investigating agent for that case. Gibbs scans the file and remembers the case.

"Keep me updated" he orders as he hands it back to McGee with a nod. Tim takes the case file and goes back to his desk and dives into the file looking for any clues that might have been missed.

1 hour later Ziva opens her fifth cold case file and scans the general information. She gets up and mimics' McGee earlier actions. She goes over to Gibbs desk and hands him the case file and points to his name as the investigating agent. Gibbs scans the file and remembers this case also.

"Keep me updated" he orders as he hands Ziva the case file. Ziva takes the case file and goes back to her desk and opens the file to start trying to find clues other might have missed.

A short while later the elevator pings and Jimmy comes out. "Hey Tim you ready to go?"

Tim looks up at Jimmy and then looks over at the clock to see what time it is.

"I'm sorry Jimmy, I totally lost track of time. Just give me a second and I'll be ready to go. Are Breena and William here?" McGee asks with a big smile on his face. Seeing Jimmy and Breena's son, who just happens to be his Godson, always put's Tim in a great mood.

"Yep, they're downstairs waiting for us but Ducky has put a time limit on you and William. He says you have a habit of hogging William all to yourself when you get him." Jimmy replies laughing.

"Hey, a Godfather has rights you know. Besides, Ducky gets to see him a lot more than I do so I have to make all my time count when I can. Ok, I'm ready, let's go." Tim says. He then announces to the room at large that he is going to lunch. As Tim and Jimmy get on the elevator, the rest of the team can hear them talking about how big William has gotten.

After they leave, Ziva has a smile on her face as she goes back to her cold case. She likes seeing Tim like this. She has been with McGee a couple of times when he babysits his Godson and she could feel the unbridled love Tim has for William. It's also easy to see that the toddler loves hanging out with his Godfather. They always have a great time together. She thinks Jimmy and Breena made an excellent choice when they chose Tim to be their baby's Godfather. She feels eyes on her and looks up to find both Gibbs and Tony staring at her.

"Why are you staring at me," she asks defensively.

"Something is going on with Probie but he won't talk to Boss, me or Abby. Besides Ducky and Jimmy, you are the only one from the team that he talks to. No one is brave enough to ask Ducky anything after yesterday and Jimmy just clams up whenever we try to get something out of him. That just leaves you to let us know what the hell is going on. I'm tired of walking around here on eggshells and I'm tired of being ignored. So what's up with Probie, Ziva?" Tony demands.

"All I know is what I have seen. I have seen Gibbs treat McGee like the stepdaughter in the Cinderella animation. I have seen you tease, prank, disparage and demean McGee. I have seen Abby use and abuse her power over him because of his feelings for her. These are only the things that I have seen. I do not know if this is why he is ignoring you. McGee has not spoken to me about anything that has to do with any of you and if he had, I still would not betray his confidence and speak to you about it. I am not the one you need to speak to about this. What I do know is I will not speak to any of you behind McGee's back. I will always be truthful with him. He considers me a friend and I cherish that. I will not do anything to jeopardize losing his friendship. I am going to lunch now." Ziva stated. As she was leaving she suddenly stopped and turned back. "Dinozzo, I have no idea why you would walk on eggshells. Is this an American custom to gain wisdom?" Ziva asks with a puzzle look on her face.

With a smirk on his face, Tony responds. "Go to lunch Ziva."

After Ziva leaves, Tony looks over at Gibbs and asks, "Do you think that's what it is Boss?"

After giving it some thought Gibbs answers "I don't think so Dinozzo."

"Yeah, I didn't think so either. I know what Ziva said is true but Probie was always able to put that behind him. Something else had to have happened but I can't think of anything that any of us has done that what get this type of reaction from him. He knows we work well together and doesn't want to interfere with that which is probably why he hasn't asked for a transfer but other than that, he wants absolutely nothing to do with us." Tony states sadly.

Gibbs thoughts were alone the same line as Dinozzo's. He was no closer to finding an answer than Dinozzo was. What he did know was that Abby was miserable not being able to talk to McGee. Tony was having trouble focusing on the job since his main focus seemed to be finding out what was wrong with McGee. And he didn't even want to think about the fool he had made out of himself. Ducky had let him have it and rightly so. The thing that really irked Gibbs was McGee wasn't doing anything wrong. If you really thought about it, McGee was just living his life the way he wanted to like the rest of them were doing. He just chose not to share his personal life with them which is his right. It's not his fault if his teammates can't handle that. They just never realized how much a part of their personal lives McGee was until he wasn't available to them anymore.

Ziva beat Tim back to the bullpen from lunch. The elevator pinged and Tim stepped out holding a toddler with Jimmy and Breena right behind him. Tim is lifting the toddler over his head and he squeals every time Tim does this. Tim finally pulls the toddler to his chest and cuddles him. The toddler pats Tim on his cheeks and says "Unca." Tim is grinning from ear to ear as Breena steps in to take her son so Tim can get to work. Breena pulls Tim head down and whispers something evil about his teammates in his ear before kissing him on his cheek. Tim let's out a loud belly laugh that is heard throughout the bullpen. William, seeing his Godfather laughing, starts laughing himself which sets off Breena and Jimmy. The team is shocked as they haven't heard McGee laugh in a long time.

"Jimmy, get your wife out of here before she starts an international incident." Tim states still laughing.

Also laughing, Jimmy ushers his wife and son out of the bullpen. After they leave, Tim ignores the stares he is getting and walks over to his desk and is instantly absorbed in his cold cases. Tony looks from Tim to Gibbs with a pleading look in his eyes. Gibbs, who was also starring at McGee, finally looks over at Tony and nods his head to Tony's cold cases basically telling him to get back to work. Tony frowns but picks up whatever case is on top and opens it but he can't concentrate on anything he is reading. He lets out a loud sigh that has Gibbs, McGee and Ziva looking at him. He looks back at them and starts grinning.

"Hey guys, let's go for drinks after work today?" Tony asks.

"No thank you" Ziva responds. "I already have plans."

Neither Gibbs or McGee reply's. Tim doesn't even look up. He just keeps typing on his keyboard.

"Hey Probie, what about you? You up for some drinks after work? Tony asks.

Tim ignores him and keeps typing.

Gibbs is getting a little irritated with McGee. He doesn't like prima donna's and he thinks that is exactly what McGee is acting like. If he doesn't want to associate with them fine, but he would not stand for being rude and ignoring his co-workers.

"McGee!"

Tim looks over at Gibbs, "Yeah boss?"

"I know you heard Dinozzo ask you a question? Why are you ignoring him? Are you so high and mighty now that you don't observe common courtesy anymore?"

Tim looked at Gibbs with and angry scowl on his face before schooling his features and answering him.

"You, who have never shown common courtesy to anyone, have the nerve to actually sit there and try to speak to me about common courtesy. You, who barges into the Director's office like it's your home instead of the professional office of the Director of NCIS, want to speak about common courtesy? You, who never saw anything wrong with Dinozzo breaking into my apartment and rifling through my personal belongings want to speak about common courtesy. First of all you and Dinozzo know nothing about common courtesy, so you should be the last ones to ever try to take someone to task for it or lack of it. Second, I made myself perfectly clear about my personal life when it comes to associating with certain individuals. Tell me Boss, when did having a drink after work become a part of NCIS work requirements? As I understand it, that is a socializing event and I made it perfectly clear to the three of you that I don't want to socialize with you on my own personal time. If Dinozzo is too much of an idiot to understand this and chooses to ignore what I have stated it is not my fault or concern. I don't need to and won't answer a question that shouldn't have been asked. As I said before, you and Dinozzo are the last two people who should try to call someone out on common courtesy. You two probably don't even realize that what common courtesy would have been was for Dinozzo to respect my wishes and not ask me about associating with him outside of work. And last, while we are speaking of common courtesy, why don't you ask Dinozzo why he thinks he is so high and mighty that he could blatantly disregard my wishes and ask me that question when I made it perfectly clear I wanted nothing to do with him on a personal level?" For some reason, you were quick to jump down my throat when you thought I had violated some type of common courtesy boss so let me know when you have jumped on Dinozzo for actually doing what you accused me of." Tim stated and then turned back to his computer and continued to work.

Gibbs, Dinozzo and Ziva could hear snickering coming from the other side of the bull pen. Gibbs was furious and embarrassed. Once again, he was made to look like an idiot. McGee had done this without raising his voice. McGee had simply stated facts and asked a question that was in direct correlation to the question he asked him. Gibbs was so frustrated he could scream.

"I'm going for coffee" Gibbs stated but before he could leave Tim stopped him in his tracks.

"What Boss? You don't have anything to say to Dinozzo before you leave? What a surprise." Tim said sarcastically before once again turning back to his computer.

Gibbs stood there glaring at the back of McGee's head as more snickering could be heard from the other side of the bull pen. Gibbs finally turned and left the bull pen. After Gibbs had left the three agents could hear some comments coming from the other side of the bull pen.

"Way to go Tim. That jar head needs to learn common courtesy himself."

"Nice one McGee. Very eloquent"

"Hey Tim, I want you to write all my hallmark cards."

The last one got the whole bull pen cracking up. Ziva had a hand over her mouth trying to control her laughter. Tim kept his face hidden in front of his computer screen but if you looked at his cheeks from the side you could tell he had a big grin on his face. Tony of course, wasn't laughing since he was part of the joke. Tony was sitting at his desk not knowing how he felt. He was just trying to make things right by having drinks after work and he had actually made them worse. Well, actually Gibbs had made things worse but that was splitting hairs. How could he fix anything if Tim wouldn't talk to him? Short of tying McGee up there was no way he could get him to talk to him. Hell, even boss couldn't get McGee to talk to him. What the hell could be so bad that Probie would just stop associating with them? There was only one thing he could think of but he knew that wasn't it. No one knew about that. It had to be something else but for the life of him he couldn't think of what it was. Well, things couldn't go on like this. Something would have to give. There was no way he could work like this. Probie was just going to have to come down off his pedestal and start associating with them again.

Ziva was sneaking quick peeks at McGee. She was worried about him. He would not tell her what had happened to make him not want to associate with certain team members. She did not like the stress he was under. She could see it in the way his shoulders were hunched. She would have to think of a way she could help him. He might not want her help but they were together now and his problems were her problems. She would find a way to help.

"Ziva?" Tim called.

"Ziva looked up "yes Tim."

"Could you come and take a look at this please." Tim requested.

"Of course" she answered as she got up and went to his desk.

Tony watched enviously as McGee and Ziva discussed the cold case he was working on. He was so engrossed in watching them work that he missed hearing his name the first time it was called.

"Tony" McGee called again.

"Huh, uh yeah McGee" he answered.

"Could you come take a look at this please" Tim requested.

Tony was shocked at first and didn't move. Then he jumped up and scrambled over to McGee's desk where both Tim and Ziva brought him up to date on what they had so far. They started off awkwardly but by the time they were fully engaged they were working like they always had before. The chemistry they had developed over years of working together snapped back into place as though it had never left.

Gibbs came back into the edge of the bull pen and stopped in shock. The three agents had moved over to the plasma and were discussing the case. They were rapidly throwing scenarios, conclusions and possibilities back and forth at each other while dissecting the case. Gibbs just stood and watched his team function like the team he knew them to be. Maybe things would get back to normal now that they were working like they used to. He saw them come to a conclusion and Tim thank Tony and Ziva for their help before collecting the files and notes and heading up to the director's office. Why was he heading up to the Director's office when I explicitly told him everything comes through me first? What was McGee playing at? He didn't know what was going on with McGee but there was no way he was going to put up with McGee blatantly ignoring his orders. Gibbs must have made a noise because Tony looked up and saw him standing there. He took one look at Gibbs face and knew what was about to happen. He tried to signal Gibbs to let him know it was ok. Gibbs either didn't get the signal or ignored it. Tony opened his mouth to try to stop the train wreck that was about to happen but wasn't quite quick enough.

"McGee, do you think this is some sort of a game?" Gibbs started. "I know I gave you explicit instructions that everything was to go through me first. Do you really think you are above being suspended for insubordination? I don't know what's going on inside your head but you will obey my instructions or you won't be working here at all. Are we clear?" Gibbs bellowed.

Already half way up the stairs, McGee had stopped when Gibbs had called his name but he had not turned around. McGee was fighting to get control of his emotions. His anger was so great that he was physically shaking trying to regain control. He stayed as he was for a couple of minutes before he was able to regain control and compose himself. He then turned and even though he had composed his facial features into a calm mask his eyes were blazing.

"Yeah Gibbs, you are crystal clear and if I remember correctly, you wanted to know every case I worked on that had your name on it. Since there are no official written rules on this I took that to mean it was one of NCIS unwritten rules that applied to all agents. With that in mind, I was not going to the directors' office to update him on this case but to give him the same common courtesy that you yourself demanded. This case is not one of yours but it is an old case that the director was the investigating agent on. Not only would I be giving him the common courtesy of notifying him that I was working on one of his cold cases but he might possibly be able to give me some pertinent information that might help in solving the case. I was in the process of using all the tools available to me to try to solve this case as a trained investigator is supposed to do. In this case, the director is one of those tools as he has direct knowledge into the case. Am I to now understand that you have a problem with me using the tools and techniques that you yourself taught me on how to investigate and solve cases?" McGee calmly stated.

Gibbs stood where he was in shock. He had done it again. He had jumped to conclusions like an idiot and it had bit him in the ass again. He looked over at Dinozzo who shrugged his shoulders as though to say I tried to warn you. He looked at Ziva whose eyes were blazing just as fiercely as McGee's were. The only difference was she was not trying to mask the anger on her face. Unfortunately for Gibbs, Ducky had come out of a conference room with another team that he was helping with a case just as Gibbs had started his shouting at McGee. The look on Ducky's face did not bode well for Gibbs. Gibbs didn't think things could get any worse until he looked back up at McGee and saw the director standing up by his assistant's desk staring daggers down at Gibbs. Yep, he stuck his foot in it this time. Why did he keep jumping to these wrong conclusions about McGee? He knows McGee. He knows McGee goes by the rules. He knows McGee obeys orders. Why couldn't he get his head on straight when it came to McGee? Looking back into McGee's blazing eyes Gibbs quietly stated "Proceed" before once again leaving the bull pen. McGee continued up the stairs to see the director while Tony and Ziva went to their respective desks with different thoughts going through their heads. Tony was thinking he finally had a breakthrough with the way they worked as a team again. Now he didn't know if Gibbs had just ruined that. Ziva's anger had not dissipated at all. It's a good thing Gibbs left because she didn't know if she would be able to resist breaking a couple of his bones.

Gibbs came back to the bull pen a while later with a fresh cup of coffee and sat at his desk. He looked over at Dinozzo who had a disappointed look on his face. He understood that look completely. Dinozzo was finally talking to his Probie in a meaningful way and he had ruined that. He looked at Ziva and wish he hadn't. The ex assassin looked like she wanted to go back to her old ways and make Gibbs the first target on her list. They all looked up as the director's door opened and McGee walked out. He walked down the stairs and asked Tony and Ziva to come over to his desk. The director had indeed given him a few more tidbits to add to the case. After they discussed the case some more with the added information, McGee put it on the Plasma and called Gibbs over. The three special agents took turns briefing Gibbs as they always had. Once Gibbs was fully briefed he started giving orders.

"That's good work. Tony, Ziva go pick him up. McGee put a bolo out on his car, boat and any other type of vehicle he owns and see if they have lo jack or some type of tracking system in them."

Before Gibbs could finish, McGee interrupted him.

"Boss, if I may. Ziva and I will go pick him up and Tony can handle the bolos and tracking devices." Tim stated quietly.

Gibbs was getting ready to blow his top again when he took a good look at his young agent. McGee's stance wasn't an aggressive stance. His voice wasn't belligerent. There was no bravado in his voice. No, he wasn't bucking against Gibbs. Gibbs calmed down and decided to think before he leapt this time.

"Why are you countermanding my orders McGee? Why the change?" he asked calmly.

"Rule 38 boss" McGee answered with a slight smirk.

Tony snickered and started fake coughing when Gibbs glared at him. Ziva was not even trying to hide her smile. Gibbs was having a difficult time keeping the smirk off his face and wasn't totally successful.

"Ok, you heard the man." Gibbs barked. "Go!"

Tony scrambled to his desk to start on the bolo's and tracking devices as Tim and Ziva went to their desk to get their weapons. As they headed out the door Gibbs shouted "stay in touch." Neither agent stopped walking through the door but Ziva raised her hand in a wave to let him know they had heard him as they disappeared through the door.

Gibbs watched as they disappeared through the door and allowed himself a quiet chuckle. He looked over at Dinozzo who had a big smile on his face.

"Good old rule 38 Boss." Dinozzo said with a smile.

With a slight smile on his face, Gibbs agreed with his SFA.

"Yeah Dinozzo," Gibbs agreed "good old rule 38."

 _For the true NCIS fans, you already know rule 38. For those of you, who are just enjoying the story and don't know what it is, shame on you! How in the world are able to enjoy a good NCIS story without knowing Gibbs Rules? That is just blasphemy! LOL._

 _OK, enough with the jokes._ _Rule 38 is 'Your Case, Your Lead'._

 _Since its Tim's cold case that makes him the lead so he gets to call the shots. Gibbs won't break his own rule so there's nothing Gibbs can do when McGee changes who will do what._

 _On one of the episodes, I don't remember which one; Ducky was the beneficiary of rule 38 as he was actually the lead on a case and got to call the shots. He enjoyed it immensely._


	7. Chapter 7

**Lost Love Found Love Chap 7!**

 **Big thanks to all my followers. Shout out to those who have me or the story a favorite.**

 **I've got nothing but love for my Reviewers.**

 **The team is having trouble adjusting to only having a working relationship with Tim. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer 1: I rarely, if ever, write cannon. I write how the story takes me.**

 **Disclaimer 2: I don't own NCIS or any of their characters. In other words, I Own Nothing.**

 _Chapter 7: Chaos Then Calm_

A month has passed, and a new atmosphere has settled over the bullpen in team Gibbs area. The norm has become an uneasy strained work environment. Well, uneasy and strained for Dinozzo and Gibbs. McGee has no problem working as efficiently and effectively as ever while still not talking to Gibbs, Dinozzo or Abby unless its work related. He also has not told anyone about what he saw to bring this change about. Tim is still producing excellent work and his relationship with Ziva is growing stronger every day.

Ziva also has no problem working in this new environment although she wishes McGee would confide in her with whatever this problem is he has with the rest of the team. As much as she wants him to confide in her she refuses to push him for answers. She will not jeopardize her relationship with McGee over these people.

His friendship with Jimmy and Ducky also appears to be getting stronger. Jimmy seems to be more like a brother to Tim now which doesn't sit well with Dinozzo as he believes that's his position.

Tony's mood and attitude has not been good for a while and has steadily gotten worse. First McGee stops talking to him and then Ziva stopped their flirting/non-flirting dialogue and now Jimmy has moved into the brother role to Tim. Tony has had enough.

"McGee I've had it with this crap. You got a problem with me; fine let's get it out in the open and deal with it. I'm not going to continue to work like this. You have this whole team in chaos. Abby is crying almost every day, and no one can get any work done. So, what's your problem with me?" Tony shouted.

McGee ignored Tony and calmly got up and started to leave the bull pen. Tony jumped up and grabbed McGee.

"Oh no you don't; you don't get to just walk away. This is going to be settled here and now whether you want to or not." Tony snarled while grabbing McGee.

Everyone from the other side of the bull pen had rushed over after hearing Dinozzo's shouting and witnessed McGee reversing the hold Tony had on his arm and flipping Dinozzo over his shoulder. Tony landed with a loud thud on his back which knocked the wind out of him. But Tim was not through with him. He flipped Dinozzo onto his stomach and twisted his arm behind his back. He leveraged Tony's arm higher on his back which brought a grunt of pain from Tony. McGee then kneeled down and said in a very clear voice.

"I don't give a damn about if you can or cannot work. I don't give a damn about how much Abby cries. As a matter of fact, I just don't give a damn at all about either one of you but if you ever put your hands on me again I will beat you within an inch of your life. Do you understand me very special agent Anthony Dinozzo?"

Tony refused to answer. Tim put more pressure on Tony's arm near the breaking point.

"I will break your arm right now if you don't answer me. I asked you if you understood me asshole?" Tim repeated as he put even more pressure on the arm.

"Yeah, I understand you" Tony finally spat out as he finally understood Tim wasn't playing around and might actually break his arm.

After receiving his answer, Tim got up and walked out of the bull pen. Ziva jumped up quickly and followed McGee out.

Tony slowly picked himself up off the floor and flexed his hurting arm. He headed down to autopsy to have Ducky take a look at him. Something didn't feel right. That throw McGee had executed felt like it jarred something inside of him when he hit the floor. Gibbs, who had been spellbound by what he had witnessed finally, came out of his daze.

"Dinozzo, where are you going?" He asked.

"To see Ducky" he replied not bothering to stop or turn around.

Gibbs looked around the area seeing only the empty desks that were supposed to contain his team. 'What the hell is going on' he thought to himself. 'When did McGee learn how to execute that maneuver? Why was McGee refusing to associate with the rest of the team?' It was abundantly clear that he wanted nothing to do with Tony, Abby or himself but no one could figure out why. It was also abundantly clear that this was not a faze. McGee was not willing to compromise his stance on this situation and the people who McGee did talk to refused to give any information they might know. They would just say they were respecting McGee's right to privacy and he would tell them himself if he wanted them to know. The problem was McGee was not talking. 'Tony was right about one thing' Gibbs thought to himself. 'We can't go on like this; Something's gotta give.'

Tim and Ziva came back into the bullpen talking comfortably like nothing had happened and settled in at their respective desks and got back to work. Tony came back into the bullpen and glared at Tim which was ignored as McGee wasn't looking at Tony. Tony handed the note Ducky had written for him to Gibbs which stated Dinozzo needed to go for x-rays. Gibbs stood up addressing Tim and Ziva letting them know he was driving Tony to get x-rays. As they were leaving, they both kept glancing over at McGee who was ignoring them as he worked. They had been gone about a half an hour when McGee's phone rang.

"McGee" He answered and then listened. "Understood director but I think it would be better if I came up to your office and briefed you face to face."

Tim listened some more before ending the call. He then turned to Ziva.

"Director wants to know why we are the only two from our team here. I'll be right back."

Tim went up to the director's office and was there for about 15 minutes before coming back down.

"We're good" he told Ziva. He then looked around to see if anyone was nearby before whispering over to Ziva "Hey Sexy, you busy tonight?"

Ziva was trying to keep the smile off her face. She had no idea how out of all the men she had met in her life, this quiet unassuming genius was the one who always brought a smile to her face. He continued to make her feel a teenager going out on her first date? She tried not to look at him because she knew she would be goner if she did.

"Agent McGee are you asking me a question?" She tried to say in a stern voice but could not hide the smile in her voice.

McGee looked around again before whispering over to her again.

"Yes, I want to cook for you tonight and the only thing you have to bring is the dessert."

That was it for Ziva. She looked over at Tim with wide eyes and saw the sexy smirk on his face. She blushed from the top of her head down to her toes. Ziva hated when he did this to her. Well, she didn't hate it, but it was an inconvenience when they were out in public and he got her body tingling. She had started bringing an extra pair of panties with her as Tim would say or do something that would get the ones she was wearing soaked. Case in point, she now needed to change the ones she was wearing. Gibbs chose that moment to return.

Before anything else, Gibbs knew the first thing he wanted to do was talk to McGee about the scuffle between him and Dinozzo.

"McGee, with me" Gibbs barked as he started to turn away.

"What do you need boss?" Tim asked.

Gibbs stopped and turned back surprised his order had been questioned.

"I need you to come with me" Gibbs spat out.

"Where are we going?" Tim asked still sitting at his desk.

Gibbs stopped again and turned back but this time he walked over to Tim's desk.

"You have a problem obeying an order McGee?" He asked quietly, his voice laced with venom.

"You have a problem telling me why I need to follow you somewhere?" McGee asked calmly.

Gibbs was staring daggers at Tim who didn't even flinch.

"You and I are going to talk about that scuffle between you and Dinozzo." Gibbs bit out.

"No, we're not" Tim responded.

"What! Do you have any idea how close you are to being suspended for assaulting a federal agent and insubordination?" Gibbs snarled.

"Well, I guess Dinozzo and I will be suspended together boss." McGee replied.

Gibbs was staring at McGee like he had two heads. He didn't know what the hell had gotten into his JFA. Gibbs thought he would try another tactic.

"Why don't you want to talk about it?" Gibbs asked.

"What's there to talk about; you were sitting right there and witnessed the whole incident. There are no gaps to fill in. You saw and heard exactly what happened. You also saw and heard who started the whole thing. So, again, what do we need to talk about?" Tim asked.

"We need to talk about the fact that you caused Dinozzo to have bruised ribs and almost broke his arm." Gibbs snapped.

"First off, the asshole needs to learn to keep his hands to himself and second, I'll talk to you about that as soon as you tell me about your conversation with Dinozzo."

"What the hell do you mean my conversation with Dinozzo? Gibbs snapped.

"The conversation you had with him when you took him for x-rays. The conversation where you asked him why he tried to antagonize me into a confrontation. The conversation where you asked him why he grabbed and assaulted a federal agent who was trying to walk away and avoid an altercation? The very conversation that you seem hell bent on having with me right now. Tim stated.

Gibbs stood there staring at McGee not saying a word because of course he was right. They both knew Gibbs had not spoken to Tony about trying to antagonize McGee or grabbing him. McGee had done nothing wrong. Dinozzo had been the aggressor during the entire situation until McGee had been forced to defend himself. During their drive to the hospital, Gibbs hadn't said one word to Tony about it. He already knew why Dinozzo did it but that didn't matter because in the scheme of things it would just look like he was showing favoritism. Even though Dinozzo was the one who got hurt, McGee was actually the victim as Tony had instigated the incident from beginning to end.

Damn, Gibbs thought. He had blown it again. Why the hell didn't he jump down Dinozzo's throat for causing the altercation? How was he going to get McGee to talk to him if he wasn't able to show him that he wasn't playing favorites? Looking at this situation from the outside, Gibbs knew it would be impossible for his team to begin to heal unless McGee took the high road and let them back into his world. Unfortunately, McGee wasn't budging and none of them had given him a reason to. Well, not talking about it was definitely not going to solve the problem so he would just have to find a way to get McGee to talk.

"McGee, we can't go on like this; tell me what's going on? Why won't you talk to me? Gibbs asked.

"What? Are you kidding me?" McGee shouted. "I've tried to talk to you since the day I was assigned to this team and you never gave a damn. It took until now for me to finally give up on that pipe dream and move on. Now that frat boy and Goth girl are miserable now you want to talk to me. Well, the hell with that. I have nothing to say to you. If 'we can't go on like this' as you put it, then transfer me off your team otherwise learn to live with it just like I had to."

"Come on McGee, something happened for you to just stop talking us. It had to be something big but only you know what it is. If you won't talk to us, how are we going to be able to work together?" Gibbs asked.

"You and Dinozzo are a piece of work. Dinozzo has the nerve to come to me whining about how he can't work like this and that Abby is crying almost every day. And when Dinozzo instigated a confrontation and assaulted me you sat there and did nothing as usual. Now you have the unmitigated gall to come back here and say we need to talk? Why, because Dinozzo got the wind knocked out of him; because you think it's the only way we will be able to work together."

"Tell me Gibbs; where was all this concern when Tony and Abby treated me like dirt? I don't remember you seeking them out and demanding they have a talk with you concerning me. I've never heard you tell them they couldn't go on like that. Why was it ok to continue to work like that when I was the one who was getting hurt? When I was the one who was miserable? I'll tell you why; because you care about the two of them, but you don't give a damn about me. It's ok though because I've come to terms with that too. So, to bring this conversation to a close; I don't need or want you three in my personal life. I have no problem working with you people but if you can't work with me, transfer me and I will happily go on my merry way." McGee finished before walking off leaving a shocked and dejected team leader behind.

Gibbs thought about what McGee said but he couldn't process it all right at that moment. He looked at Ziva and told her he was going for coffee.

Ziva had been listening to their conversation and her heart hurt for Tim at some of the things he said. She was sure that even though those things happened a long time ago, Tim was still hurting from them. She did not know how Tim had put up with it all these years. He stopped talking to them for a couple of months and the team was in chaos. This was just more proof that Tim was stronger than them all.

Tim came back into the bullpen and looked around only seeing Ziva. He walked over to her and leaned down, so he could whisper in her ear.

"It's quitting time, let's go home so I can cook for my beautiful ninja."

Ziva smiled up at him and simply said "yes."

They put away their cold cases, powered down their computers and cleaned their desks before leaving. Tim told Ziva to go ahead, he was going to go brief the director. Even though it was quitting time he would feel better if the director knew no one from the MCRT was currently in the bullpen. Ziva said ok she would meet him at his place, Ziva smiled when she said that since Tim had already given her a key to his place, so she could come and go as she pleased.

The brief with the director took a little longer than Tim expected since the director wanted to speak with him on several things including a special assignment. Tim left the meeting with a big smile on his face.

When he arrived home, Ziva was lounging on his couch with one of his button up shirts on. He just stopped and stared at the those long beautiful tan legs. He followed those legs from her toes up to the top of her thighs where his shirt stopped him from seeing any further. He never hated one of his shirts more than he did at that moment. He could not tear his eyes away from her legs until he heard her speak.

"Do you see something you like Timothy?" Ziva asked coyly.

He finally looked up to her smiling face and gulped. "Hell Yeah" he stated.

He walked over and picked her legs up, so he could sit down and place her legs on his lap. He immediately started massaging them starting with her calves and working his way up. Ziva closed her eyes and starting groaning in pleasure as his massage worked the kinks out of her legs. As Tim's his hands went higher Ziva's groans of pleasure turned to moans of arousal.

Tim was massaging the back of Ziva's thighs and her moans were getting louder. He continued up until he was massaging her ass. Moaning loudly, Ziva turned over onto her stomach to give him better access. Now Tim placed both of his hands on her ass and continued massaging and kneading her panty clad ass. Tim was mesmerized by her ass and had zoned out as he continued his ministrations. As much as Ziva was enjoying Tim's hands on her ass, she was just about ready to jump up, straddle him and take what she so badly needed. She was always amazed at how quickly he could bring her to this point.

Tim finally came out of his trance and remembered he was supposed to be cooking for Ziva, not giving in to his own selfish desire to run his hands and tongue all over her beautiful body. Tim smacked Ziva on her ass which caused her to squeal and rise up in surprise. The then bent forward and kissed the spot he had just smacked. Feeling the kiss, Ziva turned back over hoping he would kiss her somewhere else also. Tim winked at her and lifted her legs as he got up. He saw the pout on her face and chuckled as he leaned down and gave her a deep loving kiss which she returned whole heartedly.

Tim picked Ziva up; chuckling at the squeak she gave and carried her into the kitchen. He sat her on the bar stool, so they could talk while he cooked. Tim ran into the bedroom to change out of his work clothes. He came back out with just his boxers and a MIT shirt on. Ziva eyes lit up at his attire. Tim gave her a quick kiss and got to work on their meal. Ziva smacked him on his ass as he walked by her.

"Hey, watch it lady; my girlfriend is very jealous and just happens to be a ninja. I would advise you to keep your hands to yourself." Tim said in a fake outraged voice.

Ziva looked Tim up and down and deciding she liked what she saw she responded

"I will take my chances with this ninja you speak of. I think you are worth it, so she had better be good because I also know some techniques."

Tim smiled at her and walked back over to her and gave her a kiss that she felt all the way down to her toes. When he lifted his head, he gave her one of the smiles that she knew was just for her before going back to preparing their meal. Tim had his back to her, so he did not see the huge smile on her face. Ziva was thinking the hell with the food; he could go on kissing her like that the rest of the night and she would be all right with that.

As Tim cooked they had an easy flowing conversation. They talked about anything and everything. Ziva eyes followed him around the kitchen as he prepared their meal. Soon, the amazing aromas coming from the kitchen had Ziva's stomach grumbling.

"Tim"

"Yes baby"

Ziva's smile got even bigger at his response. She always got butterflies in her stomach and a tingle in her heart when he called her that. He said it in a way that made her feel like she was the most precious thing to him.

"Where did you learn to cook?" Ziva asked

Tim laughed. "MIT"

Ziva frowned. "I was not aware they had cooking courses there."

Tim laughed again. "They don't"

Ziva continued frowning. "Then how did you learn?"

"A good friend of mine taught me" he stated.

Ziva frowned deepened. "Who is she and what is her social security number?"

Tim really laughed now. "No need to be jealous Ziva and you are not looking up anyone to hurt them; as I said, just a good friend and HE wanted to be a chef."

Ziva calmed down hearing that it was a male even as Tim continued to chuckle. She looked at him and it caused him to really laugh again. Ziva started smiling as she could just imagine what her face must have looked like when she asked for the social security number. When she thought about their conversation, her frown reappeared.

"I still do not understand Timothy; why was a person who wanted to be a chef going to MIT?"

"Well Ziva, you know how my father wanted me to join the navy because he was navy and his father was navy?" At her nod, Tim continued. Well, Zach's father was the same way only with MIT instead of the navy. Zach's father went to MIT and his father went to MIT. Zach wanted to go train to be a chef, but he didn't have the money and his father told him he would only pay his tuition and living expenses if he went to MIT."

"Where is your friend now?" Ziva asked.

"He is the head chef at a very upscale restaurant in downtown DC. I'll take you there this weekend, so you can meet HIM." Tim stressed again chuckling.

Ziva joined in laughing with him this time as she didn't feel she had to go and kill some woman who might have had her Tim's affections.

Tim placed the food on the table along with a bottle of wine. He poured them both a glass and told Ziva to come sit. He held out the chair for her and when he had her seated, leaned down and placed a sweet kiss on her lips. Ziva had a huge smile on her face as she watched Tim sit down. They ate the delicious meal Tim had created while they continued their conversation. Ziva absolutely loved these moments. They were not doing anything extravagant. Just her and her man enjoying a meal and conversation.

"So, Timothy, if your friend went to MIT how did he become a head chef?" Ziva asked.

Tim started laughing again before answering her question.

"Well, when Zach and I were trying to figure out how he could afford chef training, I noticed something about the way his father paid Zach bills. He didn't pay them; he sent Zach the money to pay them. He just wanted the invoice of the bill and the receipt stating it had been paid. He told Zach he would give him the money he needed, but he would not pay his bills. He said Zach was an adult now and needed to learn how to pay his own bills."

"I still do not understand how he got trained as a chef if he used the money to pay his bills." Ziva questioned.

"This is the devious part." Tim stated. "Yes, Zach had no choice but to pay all his MIT bills, but his living expense bills were a different matter. Zach and I searched the internet for the most expensive car we could find that was not a sports car or luxury car. When we found it, I had Zach send it to his father. His father sent the money and we went and bought the car. I took pictures of Zach sitting in the car in front of MIT."

"I still do not understand" Ziva stated.

"Just hold on sweetie" Tim said. "Now, we sent the invoice back stating how much the car cost and the bill stating the car was paid in full. We even sent copies of the title, registration and insurance which were all in Zach's name. Now, most car contracts give you 30 days to return the car with no penalty, so the following week Zach took the car back stating he didn't want it and two weeks later he received a check for his full refund back from the dealership. We went to the DMV and gave them copies of the paper work showing the car had been given back to the dealership then we cancelled the insurance. So now Zach had a huge sum of money to start his chef training but not enough to sustain the training."

"That is devious" Ziva said with a smile. "I now know I must keep my eye on you Tim."

Smiling, Tim continued with the story.

"Next we found the most expensive one-bedroom apartment we could find and sent Zach's father what the deposit, first and last month rent and the monthly payments were. Zach's dad sent the money and Zack signed the lease and got receipts for the payments. We sent copies of the signed lease and the receipts for the deposit and first and last month's rent. Apartment contracts also give you 30 days to cancel with no penalty. The following week, Zach went back and told management he didn't want the apartment after all. Two weeks later he received a check for the amounts of the deposit and first and last month rent. So, he had more money to finance his chef training. He also received a check every month from his father for the monthly rent. His father never asked for a monthly receipt for the rent since he was convinced Zach was living there by the signed lease."

Ziva was in awe at how Tim had masterminded this trickery to get the money for his friend, so he could follow his dream. She was starting to see how Tim was able to find clues when no one else could. He thought like crooks thought but used it for good. If Tim wanted to be a crook, Ziva did not think anyone would ever be able to catch him.

"But if Zach had no car and no apartment, how did he get around and where did he live?" Ziva asked.

Tim was really laughing now.

"Zach lived at MIT in the dorm rooms. He was my roommate. No one really needed a car to get around. We went to school where we slept, and the public transportation is very good in that area. We just caught a bus to where ever we wanted to go off campus. The only thing Zach really had to do to keep his father off his back was to attend MIT. His father would call his old friends at MIT and get secret reports on his son so he was satisfied. We knew about the phone calls, but it didn't matter because Zach had no problem attending classes and getting good grades. He attended his chef training at night."

Ziva started chuckling herself as she saw that the plan was brilliantly simplistic. Zach's father, who wouldn't pay for Zach's chef training, ended up paying for it anyway.

When the meal was done, they continued to talk as they sipped their wine. Ziva was watching Tim as he talked and for some reason it was turning her on. He was not talking about anything sexual but just sitting with him, listening to him, being in his presence was making her very horny. She could feel the wetness between her legs and finally couldn't take it anymore.

Ziva got up and walked around the table to stand in front of Tim. He looked up at her and watched as she unbuttoned his shirt that she was wearing. She then placed her hand on his shoulder as she reached down and removed her damp panties. She reached down inside Tim's boxers and pulled out his already hard member. Tim had gotten hard immediately when Ziva unbutton the shirt she was wearing. Ziva stepped across Tim, straddling him and lined him up placing him at her entrance before sinking down on him, hissing as he filled her. When she was completed seated on him she leaned forward and kissed him with all the desire she had bottled up inside her. Tim wrapped his arms around Ziva and kissed her back just as passionately.

Ziva started to move on Tim's lap. She alternated bouncing up and down on his shaft and completely sitting on him taking him deep inside of her and moving her hips back and forward. It didn't take long for Ziva to reach her first climax as she sat down on Tim hard, closed her eyes and came apart in his lap.

When she calmed down she opened her eyes and looked directly into Tim's eyes. She gave him a long kiss as she started moving again. She felt him still big, hard and deep inside her. She began to rotate her hips loving the feeling of him inside of her. Since she was not currently bouncing, Tim took advantage of this opportunity to lean forward and draw a breast into his mouth. Ziva's head went back and her mouth opened in a silent scream as an electric bolt went through her body when Tim's lips closed around her nipple. She started to rotate and grind harder now. Tim moved to her other breast causing Ziva to speed up as another climax was rapidly approaching. Ziva leaned back removing her breast from Tim's mouth before smashing her lips on his. When they came up for air, Ziva changed to bouncing on Tim. Tim could feel his own climax approaching as Ziva bounced wildly in his lap. Tim placed his hands underneath Ziva's ass and helped her bounce on top of him. Ziva bounced one last time and sat down hard grinding on Tim as her orgasm washed over her. Her climax caused her inner muscles to clinch around Tim's penis pushing him over the edge as he reared up and emptied his seed into her.

When they both had calmed down, Ziva slowly lifted her face from Tim's neck to look at him. Tim smiled that special smile at Ziva and she slowly brought her head down and gave Tim a long loving kiss. Ziva leaned back and smiled at him. She felt Tim starting to soften and took that as her cue to get up before they made a mess in the kitchen. As she rose up they both moaned when Tim came out of her with a plop. Ziva scampered into the bathroom attached to the bedroom while Tim continued to sit there with a sappy smile on his face. He didn't know if he would be able to move anytime soon.

"Timothy"

Tim turned his head to see Ziva standing in the bedroom doorway completely nude. His eyes drank in the perfect body and his body started to react boldly to what he was seeing.

"Yes Ziva" Tim finally responded.

"Are you coming to bed now?" she asked.

"Well, I was going to clean up the kitchen first." He stated.

"Ok, but you did tell me to bring the dessert and I just thought that after the fabulous meal you prepared for us, you would be ready for it. If you change your mind, I have prepared your dessert for you and it will be in the bedroom."

Ziva then turned and sauntered back into the bedroom making sure her hips swayed in a very enticing way. Tim was once again in a trance as he watched that mouthwatering ass sway back and forth as it disappeared into the bedroom. He was broken out of his trance when he could no longer see Ziva. Tim looked at the dishes and then looked at bedroom. People always told Tim he was a genius, but he didn't need a high IQ to make this decision. Tim went from not knowing if he could move to jumping up and dashing into the bedroom.

Three sounds came from the bedroom when Tim disappeared in there. First there was a feminine shriek followed by feminine laughter and finally lots and lots of feminine moaning. As much as Tim enjoyed his dessert, Ziva enjoyed it much much more.


	8. Chapter 8

**Lost Love Found Love!**

 _ **Chapter 8: Just To Clarify**_

 **Team Gibbs is in the midst of more misunderstandings, wrong conclusions and clarifications. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer 1: I rarely, if ever, write cannon. I write how the story takes me.**

 **Disclaimer 2: I don't own NCIS or their characters. To clarify, I OWN NOTHING.**

 _McGee's Apartment_

As sweat pours off of her naked body in rivulets, Ziva arches her back and screams. Ziva is not sure if she will be able to take much more of this torture. She is having trouble catching her breath as her body slowly calms down. Tim has been eating his dessert and very thoroughly licking the bowl clean for the last 30 minutes. He has just brought Ziva to her fourth climax. Ziva tries to speak but her throat is raw from screaming for the past half hour.

Ziva looks down her body and smiles as she notices her hands are still fisted with patches of brownish blonde hair in each hand still pressing the head that the brownish blonde hair belongs to into her core. She slowly opens her hands and releases the head. As the head looks up a pair of green eyes meet her brown ones. As Tim continues to look into her eyes he smiles and very slowly licks his lips. Ziva gives him a sultry smile as she crooks her finger telling him to come here.

Tim slowly begins to crawl up her body but he stops at her breasts and takes the left nipple into his mouth. The smile leaves Ziva face as she hisses and arches her body at the contact. Tim uses his teeth to gently scrape back and forth on her nipple. Ziva starts to moan as the sensation is sending electric shocks through her body. Tim gently bites down on the nipple and Ziva moans out Tim's name as the pleasure/pain ignites the flames in her body. Ziva thought they would rest a while but Tim quickly has her body strumming again.

Tim is about to go to Ziva's other breast but she grabs his head before he gets there and tugs him upward. She needs him deep within her immediately and is not willing to let him continue his foreplay. When they are nose to nose, Ziva crashes her lips unto his. Tim is content to go on kissing Ziva the rest of the night but the ninja is not having it. She reaches down and wraps her small hands around Tim's shaft and lightly begins to stroke him. Tim moans as her hands feel so good on him. Ziva positions the head of Tim's shaft at her entrance and looks into his eyes silently pleading for him to complete the union. Tim captures her lips again as he plunges into her depths. Ziva rakes her nails down Tim's back as the feeling of him filling her once again as only he can sends pleasure throughout her body.

Tim remains motionless buried deep inside of Ziva. He always feels like he is home when they are locked together like this, the most intimate of ways. Tim slowly starts to rock in and out of Ziva as she wraps her legs around his waist. Ziva is mewling now as the pleasure intensifies. Tim has settled into a nice comfortable pace. Tim loves the intimacy of the coupling and does not rush to get to the completion of the act. Unfortunately for him Ziva is not interested in a marathon session right now. She is finally getting what she so desperately needed; her man plunging deep into her nether regions. Normally she would allow Tim to go at his pace but her body is demanding more.

"Tim please" Ziva moans out.

Hearing the urgency in her voice and sensing her need for completion; Tim stops and gently removes Ziva legs from around his waist. He bends her knees back onto her chest. Ziva eyes grow wide as she realizes she is wide open to Tim now. He leans down and kisses her before plunging back into her depths. Ziva is once again screaming as Tim starts hammering into her. Neither of them are in control of their minds as the smacking of their bodies and the almost unbearable pleasure coursing through them is driving their primitive urges now. Tim is hitting bottom on every stroke now. Ziva feels the orgasm building in her and doesn't know if she will be able to survive it. Tim is also racing toward his completion as he manages to find another gear. That extra gear is Ziva's undoing. She screams his name as the dam burst and the floodgates open. Her internal vaginal muscles clinch around Tim causing him to also reach his peak.

After Tim has emptied what felt like every drop of fluid in his body into Ziva, he wants nothing more than to remain as he is, deep inside his woman. He knows even though she wouldn't complain, this is not a comfortable position for Ziva to relax in. Without breaking their connection, he raises a little just so he can let her legs straighten out. Once this is done he gathers Ziva into his arms and slowly rolls them over so Ziva is now lying on top of him. Ziva hums as this is exactly where she wants to be.

Ziva smiles as Tim places his hand on her ass and squeezes. They are both content to lay like this the rest of the night. Unfortunately, as good as it feels to be buried inside of Ziva that particular part of a man's anatomy is not made to remain hard forever. Tim's shaft softens and finally exits Ziva. Tim knows Ziva is not going to move. If she had been in any other position, she would be up immediately but when she is lying on him like this she will be sleep in no time. Ziva found out a while ago that lying on Tim with his hand on her ass was like a sleeping pill to her. She finds it soothing.

Normally, Tim would get them both up, so they could shower but tonight he forgoes that. He doesn't think either one of them has the strength to make it to the shower. Since all their carnal activities had been done above the covers, they wouldn't have to worry about changing the sheets. He would change the top cover tomorrow. Tim uses his foot to maneuver the folded comforter they kept at the foot of the bed up to where he could reach it. He unfolds it and spreads it over them. Ziva has barely moved except to snuggle her face further into Tim's neck. The sound of her soft snores brings a smile to Tim's face. He loves everything about this woman, including her snoring. With a hand on her ass and one caressing her back, Tim follows her into dream land.

Tim's alarm goes off the following morning. He rolls them over so that Ziva is now on her back. He gets up and smiles down at his sleepy mate before bending and picking her up. Ziva wraps her arms around his neck as she snuggles her face into the crook of his neck. Tim walks into the bathroom and stands Ziva on her feet so he can turn on the shower. After Tim turns the water on he takes Ziva into his arms. Ziva wraps her arms around his waist and they just stand there embracing each other content to let the water just beat down on them. Once they have their shower and get dressed, Ziva tells Tim to go ahead to work and she will stop and get the coffee. She gives him a loving kiss goodbye before letting him leave.

Tim is in the bullpen working on cold cases with a smile on his face. He felt great. The loving Ziva had given him was still radiating throughout his body. As Tim continued to work on his cold case Ziva came into the bullpen with the coffee. She put one on Tim's desk and can't help but notice the big smile on his face.

"Good morning agent David" Tim greets her.

Wearing a pretty big smile herself, Ziva greets him back "Good morning agent McGee."

With a devious smirk on his face, Tim asks "Did you sleep well?"

Smiling at the game Tim has decided to play with her this morning, Ziva answers.

"As a matter of fact, I slept very well. For some reason I was very tired and slept like a branch. What about you agent McGee, how did you sleep? Did you cook some dinner or have take out?"

"Well, first of all Ziva, you slept like a log not a branch." Tim responded.

"Branch, log, they are all a part of the tree, yes?" Ziva asks.

"Yes, they are" Tim responded.

"So, you see, it does not matter." Ziva said triumphantly.

"Ok Ziva, you win." Tim said with a laugh.

"You still have not answered my question about how you slept and what you had for dinner agent McGee."

"Well, I also slept like a branch" Tim answered giving Ziva a smirk at his intentional misuse of American idioms "and I had a great dinner but it did not even come close to the dessert I had. It was so sweet and tasty that I actually licked the bowl clean. I could have gone on eating this tasty treat all night. I'm telling you Ziva, there is nothing like it in this whole world. The best part about it was it had a very tasty cherry on top. I just couldn't stop licking and sucking on it. Just thinking about it has my mouth watering for more." Tim finally finished.

Ziva had sat down or rather fell down into her chair when Tim was half way through his description of his dessert. She was breathing hard and squeezing her thighs together to try and ease the throbbing there. Her nipples had hardened and the outline was showing through her blouse. Ziva had been with her share of men and was not some innocent little virgin who did not know how the world between men and women worked but she could not for the life of her figure out how this one man could bring her to this state of wantonness with just words. Ziva had that dangerous sexual look in her eyes when she looked at McGee.

McGee had been watching Ziva and when she looked at him, he smiled that sexy smile she loved. He knew what he was doing to her. He also saw the look in her eyes and knew that if they were anywhere else besides work, Ziva would have already thrown him to the ground and had her wicked way with him. Tim walked into the break room and retrieved a large bottle of water. When he came back into the bullpen, he picked up 5 cold cases and proceeded over to Ziva's desk. He placed both the water and the cold cases on her desk and gave her a loving smile.

Ziva smiled back at him and said thank you as she opened the water and took some big gulps. Ziva put the cap back on the water, picked up her purse and excused herself as she left for the lady's room. Ziva went into the handicap stall since it was bigger and removed her pants and panties. She took a Ziploc plastic bag out of her purse and placed the now soaked panties in the Ziploc bag with a smirk on her face as she thought about ways to get back at Tim. She took out some wet wipes and cleaned herself up before pulling out a fresh pair of panties and putting them and her pants on. After disposing of the wipes, she went to the sink to wash her hands and splash some water on her face. She dried her hands and face and checked to make sure she was presentable before going back out into the bullpen.

Gibbs and Tony had come in while she was in the bathroom. She spoke to them both and noticed they were both staring at McGee with different expressions on their faces. She went to her desk and drank some more water before grabbing her first cold case and getting to work on it. It was very quiet in the bullpen until Gibbs phone rang.

"Yeah Gibbs" he answered. "Got it" he replied after apparently receiving some information.

"Gear up, dead Marine in Rock Creek Park" Gibbs barked.

Gibbs watched as his agents grabbed their guns, badges and gear and headed to the elevator.

"Dinozzo, stand down! You haven't been cleared to go into the field yet." Gibbs ordered.

"Aw come on boss, I feel fine." Tony whined.

Gibbs walked over and got in Tony's face and said in a deceptively low voice "What did you just say?"

Tony gulped as his eyes opened wide and stated nervously "I said I was sitting at my desk and manning the phones while you all went to the crime scene at Rock Creek Park."

"That's what I thought you said." Gibbs answered as he joined Tim and Ziva in the elevator.

Once the team got Rock Creek Park, Gibbs barked out orders to his two agents and they went to work. They worked quietly and steadily for hours. Gibbs would look up from time to time to see his agents hard at work looking for clues and gathering evidence. There was no constant chatter or any other distractions as they worked the crime scene. Even Gibbs had to reluctantly admit that without Dinozzo there distracting everyone, his team seemed to be rapidly and accurately processing the crime scene. When they were done, he told them to take the evidence to Abby so that she could start looking for some forensics evidence to help them with the case. Tim and Ziva packed up the truck and were gone in a heartbeat. Gibbs couldn't complain as he had watched them meticulously comb every inch of the crime scene not missing a single thing. He knew he had a good team as they had just proven once again. He just wished he could figure out a way to get their personal interactions back on track. Gibbs gave a heavy sigh as he climbed into the car and headed back to HQ.

McGee was busily inputting the information they had so far on the case. He did not notice Gibbs come into the bullpen. Gibbs looked around and saw McGee inputting information into his computer at a rapid pace. He looked over at Ziva and saw she was on the phone. He listened to her side of the conversation and learned she was on the phone with the dead Marines CO. He looked at Dinozzo and saw him doing nothing but glaring at McGee. Yeah, he was going to have to figure something out quick or this situation was going to blow up in his face. Well, the first thing he could do is try to get McGee and Abby talking.

"McGee, go down and see if Abby has anything." Gibbs barked.

"Have Dinozzo do it." Tim answered without looking up from his computer.

Everything stopped. It was quiet in the bullpen as everyone was shocked that McGee hadn't jumped to carry out Gibbs orders. Gibbs walked over to McGee's desk and put his hand down on McGee's keyboard effectively stopping him from typing.

"What did you say?" Gibbs snarled.

"You heard exactly what I said." Tim answered back calmly.

"I don't know what the hell has gotten into you but consider yourself suspended without pay for disobeying a direct order since you seem to think you're above everyone else now." Gibbs snapped as he headed back to his desk.

Tony had an evil grin on his face as he thought McGee was finally getting what he deserved.

"Roger that" was all Tim said as he powered down his computer and collected his stuff and prepared to leave.

"What the hell do you think you're doing McGee?" Gibbs yelled as McGee headed for the elevators.

Tim turned and looked at him like he had lost his mind. "You just suspended me. I'm going home until my suspension is over."

"We're in the middle of a murder investigation and we're already one man down because of you. You think you can just leave in the middle of a case?" Gibbs yelled.

"Yes, I do since, as usual, you didn't think ahead before suspending me in the middle of a murder investigation. According to NCIS regulations, an agent can't work on any case if he or she is suspended. Maybe you should try thinking first before you make stupid snap decisions. Also, we wouldn't be one man down if the overgrown child over there had ever learned to keep his hands to himself. Please let me know when my suspension is over." Tim stated before stepping into the elevator and leaving a shocked bullpen.

Gibbs stood there for several moments staring blankly at the elevators trying to figure out what the hell had just happened. Gibbs finally shook himself out of his stupor and turned to what was left of his team. Ziva was on the phone still speaking with the dead marine's CO. Tony was sitting at his desk with the same evil grin on his face thinking McGee had finally received his comeuppance.

"Dinozzo; go see if Abby has anything." Gibbs snapped.

"Aw come on boss; that's a job for a Probie." Tony whined.

Ziva had just hung up the phone and caught the last part of the conversation.

"Dinozzo, there has not been a probational agent on this team in over 5 years. Does that mean no one is allowed to go see Abby for information? Ziva asked.

"No Ziva. What I mean is that it's a McGee job." Tony explained.

"I do not understand. Why is it only McGee's job to go get information from Abby?

"Well, that's not what I mean either" Tony said in exasperation. "You see, Abby has a habit of prattling on about nothing and Probie can handle that better than anyone else."

Tony knew he had messed up as soon as he finished. The look on Ziva's face was not pleasant.

"So, this is McGee's job because no one else wants to do it? It does not matter if he does not want to do it either. It is just his job because the two of you are cowards and will not tell Abby to shut up and just give you the results?" Ziva then turns her blazing eyes on Gibbs. "This is why McGee was suspended; because just like you and Dinozzo he did not want to go listen to Abby? Is Tony now suspended? Are you going to suspend yourself?" She asked.

"That's enough Ziva!" Gibbs barked.

Ziva called them imbeciles, idiots and a couple of more derogatory names in her native tongue before turning away from them in disgust.

"Agent McGee, why don't you start by telling us why you disobeyed a direct order from your direct reporting official?" The director asked.

"Well sir, as you know, being on agent Gibbs team means following another set of rules that are not given to you but must be figured out on your own. Sometimes, when you are disobeying an order, you are actually following an unwritten rule. A quick example of that sir is you. You don't have enough fingers and toes to count how many times agent Gibbs could have been suspended every time he disobeyed one of your orders."

Vance had a little half smile on his face as Gibbs sat stoned face.

"Getting back to the unwritten rules of being on agent Gibbs team; every time the team went out in the field and I was left here in the office, I would be the one agent Gibbs would send down to see if Ms. Scuito had anything new to report from forensics. I took that as one of his unwritten rule meaning whoever was left in the office was the one who would go check with forensics. This last case, agent Dinozzo was left in the office. When agent Gibbs requested I go down to forensics, I told him to have agent Dinozzo go check with forensics. After all, this is what I was led to believe as another one of his unwritten rules; another unwritten rule that I was forced to decipher and learn on my own."

"In any case, if I'm wrong, then two factors are at work here and both lead to the detriment of my working on this team. One, if this is not one of agent Gibbs unwritten rules then he needs to stop confusing agents by waiting until they break one of his rules to let them know that it is was a rule. Two, again, if this is not one of agent Gibbs unwritten rules then that means he was just playing favoritism by only sending me to do this task. However, you spin it, there is a serious problem if agent Gibbs thinks I'm the only one who should have to go down to the forensics lab for information. Ms. Scuito is unprofessional and talks about anything and everything except the results of her forensics work. Most of the time, she doesn't give me the results anyway because she prefers to give them to agent Gibbs herself. When that happens, which is most of the time, it ends up being a waste of my time and also delays getting the information back to agent Gibbs. What team lead in his right mind would continue to send me knowing it was going to cause a delay." Tim finished.

"Ok agent Gibbs, let's hear your rebuttal?" Vance asked.

"I'm the team lead; I tell him to do something and he does it with no questions asked. That's it." Gibbs stated stubbornly.

"No agent Gibbs, I'm afraid that is not it. If that was it, just as agent McGee stated, you would be suspended constantly for not obeying my orders with no questions asked. The difference is while agent McGee has a valid reason, which you created, for disobeying your orders. You, on the other hand, almost never have a valid reason."

Gibbs just continued to glare at McGee. Vance continued speaking.

"You have made no secret of the fact that your training method is for your agents to figure it out for themselves. While agent McGee did disobey a direct order, it was only because he was following your training methods and your rules. You can't have it both ways Gibbs. You can't tell an agent to figure it out and then punish them when they figure it out wrong according to you. These agents are not mind readers. Agent McGee gave a perfectly logical reason as to why he didn't obey your instructions but you have yet to give a logical rebuttal or reason for his suspension." Vance stated.

"I don't need to give a rebuttal. All that needs to happen is McGee carry out my instructions, no questions asked." Gibbs snapped.

"First of all, that's not going to happen but let me put this in a way that you can understand. I've just about had it with you thinking you can run your team as though it was a marine unit. Agent McGee, who was following your personal rules, should not have been suspended or reprimanded. You want your orders obeyed without question then make your orders clear, concise and fair across the board and stop this 'figure it out for yourself' prehistoric BS. I'm putting you on notice that I will be watching you very carefully and if I see you're still showing favoritism; agent McGee will be removed from your team and you will be suspended. Is that clear and concise enough for you agent Gibbs?"

Gibbs just glared at Vance without making a sound.

"Apparently it isn't so I guess we need to just go ahead with agent McGee's immediate transfer since you can't seem comprehend and respond to a direct question." Vance stated as he picked up the phone.

"You are clear" Gibbs said between clenched teeth.

"What did you say Gibbs? Vance asked.

"I said your orders are clear." Gibbs stated clearly this time.

"Very well" Vance said as he put the phone down. "Agent McGee, your suspension was without merit and is hereby revoked. There will be no information about this incident placed in your file but it will be noted in my personal file in case something like this happens again. Gibbs, I'm not playing around. If I find out that agent McGee was mistreated in anyway because of this incident, I'll have your badge. Dismissed!"

The agents left the director's office and proceeded down the stairs to the bullpen. Neither agent said a word. Gibbs face was like granite and everyone scrambled to get out of his way. As the two agents separated going to their desks, they were watched very closely by Tony and Ziva. They sat down at their respective desks for about 5 minutes before Gibbs couldn't take it anymore.

"McGee, with me" he snapped as he rose and headed for the elevators.

McGee, who had started on one of his cold cases, locked his computer and followed Gibbs to the elevators. Once McGee entered the elevator, Gibbs started it and then stopped it with the emergency switch and glared at McGee. McGee simply stared back at Gibbs waiting for him to start. This went on for a minute or two before Gibbs finally realized McGee wasn't going to say anything. This infuriated Gibbs even more.

"Well" Gibbs spat out.

"Well what" McGee responded.

"What the hell was that in the director's office?" Gibbs snapped.

"I don't know what you're talking about. We were both in there so what exactly are you asking me? McGee asked.

"Why were we in the director's office? Why did you go running to him? What happens on this team stays with this team." Gibbs snarled.

"Well maybe you should think about the ripple effects it will cause with the director before you make stupid decisions." McGee answered.

"What the hell are talking about McGee?"

"I didn't go running to the director when you suspended me; as you already know I went home. It just so happens that the director had me working on a special project which you are fully aware of. The director came downstairs looking for me. My best guess is he wanted to get an update on the project. Neither you nor I was there since apparently you were out getting coffee and I was home on suspension. The director asked Dinozzo where I was and he told the director I was suspended, not me. The director called me at home and told me to come into his office immediately. When I arrived, you were already there."

Gibbs felt like an idiot once again. He couldn't seem to get his team back in sync and worse he couldn't even get himself righted. It was almost impossible to fathom how his nerdy computer genius could disrupt the team this much just by not socializing with them. It was driving him crazy and there was nothing he could do about it. McGee wasn't doing anything wrong by choosing who he wanted and did not want to socialize with in his off time. His work was exemplary. His briefings and communications with his teammates and team lead were accurate and precise. He never created a problem discussing cases and working with his team on cases. His reports were completed accurately and on time. He just did not socialize with Tony, Abby or himself and he didn't have the faintest idea why.

"How do you know what happened in the bullpen if you were home?" Gibbs asked quietly.

"Ziva called me to let me know the director was looking for me. I asked her if she knew why and she said she didn't but Tony had informed him that I was suspended." Tim answered.

Gibbs had nothing to say to that. He knew Ziva didn't lie and if she said Dinozzo told the director then that's just what happened. He glared at McGee but had nothing else to say to him. Once again McGee had done nothing wrong but Gibbs had jumped on him as if he was the guilty party. He did have a problem with McGee not following his orders to go get information from Abby.

"Why did you refuse to go see Abby? Gibbs asked.

"Why did you ask me to go? McGee countered.

"I wanted to know if she had any forensics evidence from the evidence we brought back from the crime scene."

"No Gibbs, I mean why did you specifically ask me?

"Because I wanted you to go" Gibbs snapped.

"Yeah, but why did it have to be me that went? McGee pushed.

"There was no specific reason; I just wanted you to go."

"So even though there is only you and I in this elevator, you're still going to lie right to my face instead of admitting the truth. Well let me tell you what the truth is. This has to do with what Tony said right before I roughed him up. He said Abby has been crying or something like that and that's what this is really about. You can't stand to see your so called adopted daughter crying and miserable so instead of coming to me like a man or even a concerned father and asking if I would speak to her, you decided to take the cowards way out and abuse your power as team lead and order me to go to her lab. What were you thinking; that by some miracle we would start talking and everything would be back to normal between us?" McGee asked.

Gibbs was amazed that McGee had not only seen through his plan but had actually told him what his plan was to his face. For the first time since McGee had been on Gibbs team, Gibbs broke eye contact with McGee and looked away. He was guilty of just what McGee said. What made it worse was he had actually suspended McGee over this. He could have ruined his career just because McGee wouldn't go talk to Abby. Gibbs was disgusted with himself. He felt like he was going to puke when he thought back over what he had done. There was no excuse in the world for meddling with someone's career like he had done. Now that he was looking at it objectively, it was easy to see why the director was pissed at him and immediately revoked McGee's suspension. Gibbs was broken out of his thoughts by McGee continuing to speak.

"Yeah I know; you're wondering how in the world I could possibly know that. You seem to have the same problem Dinozzo has. Just because Dinozzo calls me Probie doesn't mean I'm actually a probational agent. As team lead, you should know better than anyone that I have been a fully qualified Federal NCIS field agent for over 5 years and I'm very good at my job. That's not bragging or boasting but simply stating the truth. As a trained agent and knowing how you feel about Abby, it wasn't difficult to figure out what you were trying to do by ordering me down to the forensics lab."

"You told me once that we can't go on like this. Well I have two solutions for you. You're not going like either one but that's your problem, not mine. Solution number one; you, Abby and Tony get over yourselves and start acting like professionals. You're stalking around here acting like a lunatic father instead of a team lead; no matter where we are, Tony acts like he still a frat boy in college; Abby thinks she's some kind of fairy princess and NCIS is her kingdom and you're her white knight. Here is the reality. You're a team lead of the MCRT at NCIS HQ; start acting like it. That means fair treatment for all agents on your team. Tony is the SFA on that same team; when are you going to require him to be that. Abby is a NCIS forensic tech. She is not assigned to your team only. She is assigned to all teams at HQ. Hell, she doesn't even work for you. Director Vance is her immediate reporting official."

"Don't worry; I know the first solution is a pipe dream. I have absolutely no faith in you guys changing. The second solution is more realistic and will solve the problem instantly. Transfer me. As you have seen, I do not have a problem working with you three but you seem to have a problem working with me. Since I seem to be the problem on this team, just put in a request to the director to have me transferred and poof no more problem. Let me know what you decide" McGee stated as he reached past Gibbs and started the elevator.

McGee stepped off the elevator and headed to his desk. He still had that special project he was working on for the director to complete.

Gibbs came off the elevator with a stunned look on his face. McGee had never spoken to him that way but the part that shook him up the most was McGee advising him to transfer him. Transferring McGee had never entered his head. McGee was right about him being very good at his job. There was no way he wanted to lose McGee off his team. If McGee did leave his team, it wouldn't be because he transferred him. As long as he was able to hold on to McGee, that's exactly what he would do. No one was taking McGee from him.


End file.
